From: Rupert Shepherd <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Rupert Shepherd <[log in to unmask]>


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Digitising the Ruskin Teaching Collection at the Ashmolean Museum

Work has begun at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, on the digitisation of the
Ruskin Teaching Collection. During his time as Slade Professor of Fine Art
at the University of Oxford (1869-79 and 1883-5), John Ruskin assembled a
collection of exemplary works to use as aids to the teaching of drawing in
the classes he established at the University. The Ruskin Teaching
Collection comprises watercolours, drawings, prints and photographs by old
masters, Ruskin himself, his assistants and his friends and contemporaries,
and is currently preserved in the Ashmolean Museum. The collection,
organised into different series according to the objects' roles in Ruskin's
schemes of instruction, was described by Ruskin himself in several
published and manuscript catalogues produced whilst he was Slade Professor.
The different editions of the catalogues reflect the arrangement of the
collection - which was continuously changing - at certain fixed points.

Funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Board's Resource Enhancement
Scheme has allowed work to begin on digitising the collection, Ruskin's
catalogues, and the Ashmolean's catalogue information on the objects. This
material will be made available on the web using an interface which allows
it to be browsed and searched. A copy of the images and data will also be
deposited with the Visual Arts Data Service. The opportunities provided by
digital technology should allow for the collection to be reconstructed
virtually according to the different catalogues - something that has not
been possible until now.

Work is now underway on the collation of Ruskin's catalogues with the
collection as it now stands. Once this is complete, a pilot phase of the
project will take a trial set of objects, digitise them and their
accompanying information, and use this material to create a prototype
system; the lessons learnt from the pilot phase will inform the
digitisation of the main body of material. We expect the pilot phase to be
completed by the end of summer 2003; the project as a whole will be
completed by the end of October 2004.

The project represents a collaboration between the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
University Computing Service's Learning Technologies Group, and the Ruskin
School of Drawing and Fine Art. It is advised by a steering committee
representing the interested parties and notable Ruskin scholars.

For further details of the project, please consult the project's homepage
at <http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/ash/amulets/ruskin/>, or contact the project
manager, Dr Rupert Shepherd, at:
Department of Western Art
Ashmolean Museum
Beaumont Street
Oxford OX1 2PH
U.K.

T: +44 (0)1865 278050
F: +44 (0)1865 278056
E: [log in to unmask]

--
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Dr Rupert Shepherd, Ruskin Project Manager
Department of Western Art, Ashmolean Museum,
Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PH, U.K.
T +44 (0)1865 278050      F +44 (0)1865 278056
E [log in to unmask]
W www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/ash/amulets/ruskin/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr Rupert Shepherd, Ruskin Project Manager
Department of Western Art, Ashmolean Museum,
Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PH, U.K.
T +44 (0)1865 278050      F +44 (0)1865 278056
E [log in to unmask]
W www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/ash/amulets/ruskin/
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