JOHN RUSKIN in CUMBRIA & Beyond?

Lakeland Arts’ exhibitions for 2019:

Turner, Ruskin, Scottish Colourists, The Art of Belonging and more 

 

'In 1884 Ruskin wrote about an encroaching “Storm Cloud” - 
a darkening of the skies

that he attributed to the belching chimneys of the modern world.'

Lakeland Arts has revealed key highlights from its exciting 2019 programme of exhibitions.

Helen Watson, Lakeland Arts’ Director of Programming, said:  

'Lakeland Arts has a fabulous and fascinating year ahead. We will be showing off great works from our own collections as well as major loans from across the UK.

'We will be exhibiting more than 450 years of art history as well as contemporary work from artists of today.'

Main summer exhibition:

The main summer show at Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, is Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud (12 July – 5 October 2019).

The exhibition will include more than 100 works and stretch across five rooms.  It is one

of the biggest exhibitions in the UK during the 200^th anniversary of John Ruskin’s birth.

Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud will be the first in – depth examination of the relationship between both men, their work, and the impact Ruskin had in highlighting climate

change. In addition to Ruskin’s paintings and writings, the exhibition will feature an

introductory film along with a new publication incorporating fresh research on Ruskin

and Turner’s work.

Abbot Hall is partnering with York Art Gallery and University of York on Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud. Works from both partners go on show alongside substantial loans

from national and regional collections. Ruskin (1819- 1900) was the leading English

art critic of the Victorian era, as well as an art patron, draughtsman, water colourist,

prominent social thinker and philanthropist.

JMW Turner (1775-1881) was a landscape painter, traveller, poet and teacher. Many

people consider him the first modern painter. Ruskin said of Turner he was ‘the

greatest of the age’ and was a lifelong supporter.  The exhibition will feature watercolours,

drawings and a haunting portrait of Ruskin from the National Portrait Gallery, made in

the aftermath of his first serious mental illness.

In 1884 Ruskin wrote about an encroaching “Storm Cloud” - a darkening of the skies

that he attributed to the belching chimneys of the modern world.  The imagery also

allowed him to articulate his ongoing mental struggles.   Bringing together Victorian

and contemporary works of art, the exhibition will demonstrate the unsettling messages

underpinning Ruskin’s eye for beauty in the natural world.

Ruskin’s anxiety about darkening skies and polluted storm clouds is contrasted with

his early interest in Turner’s luminous pictures. 

The exhibition contains a substantial display of Turner’s watercolours, demonstrating

his evolving style, and his creation of highly-finished sample studies of British and

alpine landscapes. Lakeland Arts’  The Passage of Mount St Gothard (1804) by

Turner will be a key painting on show.   Cultural organisations in Cumbria including

Ruskin Museum and Brantwood in Coniston will also be marking the anniversary of

Ruskin’s birth with a series of exhibitions and events in 2019, making the county the

place to visit for everything Ruskin related.

The Ruskin Museum holds the most comprehensive display in the Lake District about

the life and work of John Ruskin. Brantwood is Ruskin’s former home where he spent

the last 28 years of his life. Helen Watson said:

“Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud will be one of our biggest shows ever. If you havean interest in Ruskin and Turner this is a must-see exhibition.

“Next year is hugely significant in celebrating Ruskin and we are delighted to have this landmark exhibition at Abbot Hall during the 200^th anniversary of his birth. It’s particularly apt that the exhibition takes place in Cumbria – the home of Ruskin and the place he found most inspiration.”

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