Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art

The School was founded by John Ruskin after his appointment as the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford in 1871. As Oxford’s first Slade Professor, Ruskin intended to develop a course for the University leading to a degree in art. His endowment of £5000 gave provision for a drawing master, the first of whom was Alexander Macdonald. In 1922, when Sydney Carline succeeded Macdonald as Ruskin Master of Drawing, he set about equipping the school with some of the essentials that had previously been lacking, such as easels, but he was unable to overturn the University's restrictions on life drawing classes. Carline, who had been an Official War Artist during World War I, died at the early age of 42.

During World War II under threat of enemy bombing, the Slade School relocated to Oxford and the students formed part of the 'Ruskin'. The School continued its work in what eventually was to become the Ashmolean Museum, moving to its current High Street site in 1975. Ruskin’s dream of establishing a Bachelor of Fine Art degree was achieved in 1978, and this became the present honours degree in 1992. The School established its Master of Fine Art degree course in 2001. Its noted teachers included Albert Rutherston, the brother of William Rothenstein, and its alumni included R. B. Kitaj.