Eighty-seven letters primarily from English art critic and author John Ruskin (1819-1900) to his pupil Louise Blandy (1860-1870), discussing her studies and chronicling their relationship.

John Ruskin (1819-1900), an English critic of art, architecture, and society, as well as an artist and a teacher, was born February 8, 1819, in London, England. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1843. After gaining wide recognition as an author, artist, and social reformer, he moved from London to Brantwood, Coniston Water, in 1872, where he remained until his death. Ruskin was elected first Slade Professor of Art at Oxford in 1870 and held the post until 1878 and then again from 1883 to 1884. Louise Virenda Blandy (1860-1890) was the daughter of a London dentist. John Ruskin began tutoring Blandy in drawing and painting in 1873. Initially, Ruskin met and corresponded with Blandy regularly, though he began limited their interactions in the late 1870s, as his illness intensified and she appeared to grow more dependent on him. Blandy married Ronald MacDonald, an American, in 1888, and she died two years later from tuberculosis in North Carolina.

Approximately 90 items in 3 boxes

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