The concept of labour stands at the very heart of Ruskin’s project. From his defence of the Pre-Raphaelites though his denunciation of capitalism and admiration for the ironworkers of Sheffield, to the utopian and dystopian visions of Fors Clavigera, Ruskin saw labour as the core both of ethics and aesthetics. This paper argues that we have much to learn from Ruskin’s complex and constructive understanding of labour as a creative force.
Tim Barringer is Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art at Yale University. His book Men at Work: Art and Labour in Victorian Britain was largely concerned with the writings of John Ruskin. He has published widely on the art of Britain and its empire and on American landscape painting. He has co-curated many international loan exhibitions including American Sublime, Art and Emancipation in Jamaica, Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde and Victorian Radicals. His writings on art and music have appeared in Art History and in edited collections.