The John Ruskin Prize - A New Look at Nature: Call for Entries

The new John Ruskin Prize will be awarded later this year to the best wall mounted artwork on the theme A New Look at Nature.  This new art competition is open to anyone over 18 working in painting, drawing, print-making or mixed media and resident or domiciled in the UK.

Fast sketch of withered oak (1879) by John Ruskin

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The new award is being organised by the Campaign for Drawing, in collaboration with the Guild of St George.

The Guild of St George, a small charity founded by Ruskin in 1871, launched the Campaign for Drawing in 2000 to celebrate its founder’s belief in the value of drawing as a tool for understanding nature.

Subsequently the Campaign became an independent charity.

The two organisations are collaborating with a view to encouraging artists to take fresh inspiration from their natural environment.

During his lifetime,England’s manufacturing cities expanded and became wealthy, whilst their workforces lived in poverty and grime. Workers had little to inspire them. Ruskin wanted to counter this imbalance and set up the Guild of St George, a philanthropic society. Through the Guild, Ruskin founded a museum specifically for Sheffield’s workers. He filled it with a collection of artworks, illustrated books and minerals, all chosen to reflect his exploration of beauty.

The Ruskin Collection is based at the Millenium Gallery in Sheffield.  Not all of the collection is on display but it is possible to interrogate the collection online

• Ruskin Collection - Architecture
• Ruskin Collection - Art
• Ruskin Collection - Nature
• Ruskin Collection - Ornament
• Ruskin Collection - FAQs

For more about The John Ruskin Prize - see below


For more about John Ruskin:

• you can also read my previous post - New website: John Ruskin and The Elements of Drawing
• you can see drawings and watercolours by John Ruskin at 
• the Ruskin Library, Lancaster University eg View The Ruskin Research Centre's AHRC funded electronic edition of Ruskin’s Venetian Notebooks 1849-50.
• The Ashmolean Museum,Oxford and 
• Brantwood, Ruskin’s home on Lake Coniston./li>

Who can enter

The John Ruskin Prize is open to anyone over 18, resident or domiciled in the UK.

What's the Theme of the Competition in 2012

The theme is A New Look at Nature

What's the Prize?

The first prize comprises:

• a cash prize of £1000
• the opportunity to exhibit at 
• Brantwood (John Ruskin’s former Lake District home) and 
• the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield during the major autumn 2012 exhibition, Force of Nature: Picturing Ruskin’s Landscape. 
• a bespoke crafted pencil case.

Nine runners up will be included in the selling exhibition of short-listed artists at Brantwood and will also receive one night’s accommodation to attend the Private View, where the winner will be announced.

How to enter the competition

Number of artworks:  Applicants may submit up to 3 digital images of artworks.

Type and dimensions of artwork: Painting, drawing, print-making or mixed media.  Artworks must be wall-mounted and not exceed 1.75 metres in any direction.

Entry Fee: The fee for the first image is 10.  £5 is charged for each of the second and third images.

Entry Form:  You can use

• either the editable entry form (word doc) and submit your entry online
• or the printable entry form (pdf) and post your entry

Images for Entry:  Images of the artwork (one for each artwork) should be sent as jpg files (maximum size: 2MB). The jury will view them projected at a resolution of 1024 x 768px.

Deadline for entries:  Entries must be received:

• at: The John Ruskin Prize, Campaign for Drawing, 7 Gentleman's Row, Enfield, EN2 6PT
• by: the deadline of 5pm on 1 June 2012.

How to submit entries  You can:

• either email submissions (entry form + images) to ruskinprize@campaignfordrawing.org and pay online.  To pay online visit the Big Draw shop and select the John Ruskin Prize. Applicants submitting via email and making an online payment must include a completed entry form and a copy of their receipt as attachments.
• Applicants sending images via email but making a postal entry and payment must identify themselves in the email
• or post a CD of images + completed entry form + chequte/postal order for entry fees

Shortlisted entries:  Short-listed artists will be responsible for framing, packing and transporting work to Brantwood, Coniston between 29 August and 4 September and their work must be for sale (25% commission on sales). They must collect unsold work by 28 October.

Who are the judges?

The Selection Panel comprises:

• Howard Hull, Director, The Brantwood Trust
• Clive Wilmer, Master, The Guild of St George
• Peter Randall-Page, Artist
• Sue Grayson Ford, Director, Campaign for Drawing

Applicants will be notified of the outcome by email.

The shortlist will be announced on 2 July and the winner will be announced on 7 September 2012. The names of the ten short-listed artists will be announced on the Campaign for Drawing website no later than 6 July 2012.

The Exhibition

The exhibition at Brantwood will be held 8 September to 14 October 2012.  All work submitted to this competition must be available for exhibition between these dates.