FROM VENICE TO SHEFFIELD – John Ruskin’s passion for art, craft and social justice

Simon Seligman


Organisation:
Freelance lecturer
Region:
Anywhere
Notice Period:
Regular (more than one month's notice)
Type:
Professional cultural lecturer (including for The Arts Society)
Fee:
Paid: My usual fee for a 1 hour lecture is currently £400 plus travel.
Category:
History
Updated:
16th January 2023

As writer, teacher, artist, collector, patron and critic, John Ruskin was perhaps the most complete polymath of the 19th century. He left behind a dazzling range of writing and collections that continue to inspire and generate debate around the world. Perhaps most famous today as a champion of Turner and admirer of Venice, Ruskin’s impact ranged far and wide; his ideas inspired the Arts and Crafts Movement and the founding of the National Trust, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and the Labour Movement. George Eliot wrote ‘I venerate him as one of the great teachers of the day’, and he influenced the thinking of Tolstoy, Proust and Gandhi among others.

Alongside this international reach, Ruskin became deeply concerned by what he saw as the negative impacts of the industrialization of 19th century England, and as a teacher, thinker and philanthropist he set up projects that aspired to give the working man access to beauty, art, craft and the land. In 1871, he founded what became the Guild of St George, the charity for arts, crafts and the rural economy, and gave it a sizeable collection of art, books and minerals for public display and education in Sheffield. Today, cared for by Sheffield Museums, the collection continues to honour his legacy, sharing something of Ruskin’s encyclopedic European sensibility for the benefit of a 21st century city.

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About Simon Seligman

I have an art history degree, and I have been giving public lectures for 30+ years. I worked at the historic estate of Chatsworth, in Derbyshire, for 19 years, latterly as their head of communications, and give a number of talks about its art collections (ancient and modern, garden and park landscape, history and family, including a lecture on Deborah, the Mitford Duchess of Devonshire, who I knew well. I was lucky enough to lecture around the UK, in Europe and all over the USA on behalf of Chatsworth, and I now take that experience, and close knowledge of my subject, to audiences around the UK as a freelance lecturer.

I also give lectures about two very different Victorians, John Ruskin and Joseph Paxton, both fascinating and inspiring men for totally different reasons, as well as on the brilliant land-artist Julie Brook.

I am lucky to talk about subjects that I feel passionate about, and am grateful to receive feedback from audiences that my lectures are entertaining, engaging and inspiring, as well as informative and thought-provoking. My lectures are normally given with digital powerpoint images, and last an hour, though I can adapt some of my talks for after-dinner or other occasions.

As well as my lecturing, I have a private practice as a Life Coach, working one-to-one with clients, and I also work part time for arts and heritage charities helping with communications.


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