On All Hallows' Day we remember the family of George Baker (1825-1910), the blacking manufacturer, Quaker, philanthropist, Mayor of Birmingham and Bewdley, friend of John Ruskin, and second Master of the Guild of St George. (This blog entry is intended as a...

My forthcoming study of John Ruskin’s Sheffield will present the most complete biography yet published of Henry Swan (1825-1889) , the curator of St George’s Museum, Walkley. This blog post answers an important question: did Henry Swan help in the 1850s to decorate...

I intend to use this space to explore a range of topics related to the Victorian critic of art and society, John Ruskin (1819-1900). It will include original articles, reviews and commentary, some of it revisiting old work, some of it anticipating publications to...