Ruskin, John, 1819-1900, John Ruskin letter to Ellen Heaton, 1861 early June
- Call Number:
- MSS 46
- Holdings:
- [Request]
- Creator:
- Ruskin, John, 1819-1900
- Title(s):
- John Ruskin letter to Ellen Heaton
- Date:
- 1861 early June
- Classification:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Series:
- Letters from John Ruskin to Ellen Heaton
- Part of Collection:
- Box 1, folder H.96
- Provenance:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, The material passed from Ellen Heaton to her nephew John Heaton, and subsequently to his brother Beresford Heaton, then to Katherine Ogilvy Heaton, and finally to Elizabeth Maud Sackville Robertson. Sold at auction, Christie, Manson & Woods, July 16, 1969 (see catalog entry no. 117).
- Conditions Governing Access:
- The materials are open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use:
- The collection is the physical property of the Yale Center for British Art. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Archives Department.
- Scope and Content:
- Ruskin has sent Heaton four duplications of the signatures from letters he has sent to his father (these are the four sheets additional to the primary, folded letter). Ruskin describes a "leaf drawing" (of Alpine rose leaves) which contains qualities not found in the work of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, "namely lusciousness and (not terrific) gloom" which Ruskin describes as more "Correggioesque than most modern work." Ruskin complains that he could have written 50 guineas worth of writing in the time it took him to find the work, which is worth no more than £20. Ruskin says he cannot bring himself to sell the work for more than it is worth but refuses to sell it for less than it cost him in lost writing time and thus concludes that he cannot sell it. Ruskin tells Heaton he has no desire to give his work to charity and that he always thought he would exchange any pieces which became valuable for other artworks and that he might one day complete such an exchange for the "leaves" with Heaton. Ruskin tells Heaton he will be taking on no further speaking arrangements after his lecture about French Architecture to the Ecclesiological Society. Heaton says that he does not think the society admits women but that he will tell Heaton if they do. Ruskin thanks Heaton for her account of Adelaide Ironside, whom Heaton has recently met. Ruskin tells Heaton that William Morris's <title>The Defence of Guenevere</title> is published by Bell & Daldy. The four additional signature sheets all contain the following proceeded by Ruskin's signature: "Dearest love to my Mother Every my dearest Father Your most aff. son." [Date provided by Surtees: Beginning of June 1861]
- Physical Description:
- 5 sheets: 1 folded (4 pages); 4 sheets (4 pages) : autograph letters signed ; 18 x 23 cm, folded to 18 x 12 cm ; 6 x 12 cm ; 8 x 12 cm ; 6 x 12 cm ; 5 x 12 cm
- Genre:
- Correspondence
- Subject Terms:
- ArtArt appreciationCollectors and collectingConservation and restorationPaintersPaintingPainting, BritishPhotographyRhetoric
- Subject Period:
- 19th century
- Associated Places:
- Great Britain
- Associated People/Groups:
- Heaton, Ellen, 1816-1894Ironside, Adelaide, 1831-1867Morris, William, 1834-1896Pre-Raphaelite BrotherhoodRuskin, John, 1819-1900
- Finding Aid Title:
- John Ruskin Letters to Ellen Heaton
- Collection PDF:
- https://ead-pdfs.library.yale.edu/5850.pdf
- Archival Object:
- https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/2362758
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/2362758?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1