The 10th Annual Ruskin To-Day Brantwood London Lecture will be given by Christine Riding, Director of Collections and Research of the National Gallery, on Friday 1st November at The Warburg Institute in London.
The lecture, ‘One Haunting Conception’: Ruskin, Turner and the Legacy of Trafalgar, explores Ruskin’s reflections on Turner as a marine painter and the nation’s maritime identity. It will focus specifically on his introductory essay for The Harbours of England and his Notes on the Turner Gallery at Marlborough House, both published in 1856, the year that the Turner Bequest officially entered the collection of the National Gallery, London.
The Annual Ruskin London Lecture Series is an ongoing tradition that celebrates the life, work, and legacy of the eminent Victorian art critic and social thinker, John Ruskin (1819-1900). Each year, a renowned speaker from the fields of art, culture, and society comes forward to delve into various aspects of Ruskin’s profound influence on art, education, and social change. These thought-provoking lectures serve as a platform for engaging with Ruskin’s ideas, their relevance to contemporary issues, and their impact on the world.
Christine Riding was appointed Director of Collections and Research at the National Gallery in February 2023, having been the Jacob Rothschild Head of the Curatorial Department and Curator of British Paintings for four years. Before joining the National Gallery, Christine held curatorial positions, first at the Museum of London and the Palace of Westminster and then, from 1999 to 2011, at the Tate, where she co-curating numerous exhibitions including ‘Hogarth’ (2007) at Tate Britain and ‘Gauguin: Maker of Myth’ (2010) at Tate Modern.
From 2011-18 she was Head of Arts and Curator of the Queen’s House at the Royal Museums Greenwich and led on the acquisition of the ‘Kangaroo’ and ‘Dingo’ by George Stubbs (2013) and the ‘Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I’ (2016), and was the lead curator of the major exhibition, ‘Turner and the Sea’, held at the National Maritime Museum in 2013. She was also the curatorial lead on the refurbishment of the Queen’s House, Greenwich, which included commissioning the installation in the Great Hall by Turner prize winning artist Richard Wright. From 2007?12, Christine was Deputy Editor of ‘Art History’ (Journal of the Association for Art History) and from 2014–2019, she was Chair of The Association for Art History. She is also an alumna of the Clore Leadership Programme.
At the National Gallery, she has curated the exhibitions, ‘Kehinde Wiley: Prelude’ (December 2021-April 2022), ‘Gainsborough’s Blue Boy: The Return of a British Icon’ (January-May 2022) and ‘Turner on Tour: Masterpieces from the Frick Collection’ (November 2022-February 2023) and is curating ‘Discover Constable and the Hay Wain’, which opens in October 2024. She is the directorial lead on ‘NG200: The Main Event’ project for the Gallery’s bicentenary celebrations. This will be the first complete redisplay of the National Gallery’s world-class art collection in over thirty years. She is currently spearheading a major redevelopment of the National Gallery’s Research Centre as part of the ‘NG200: Welcome’ programme.
The 10th Annual Ruskin To-Day Brantwood London Lecture is presented in partnership with Sovereign Films. Friday 1st November 2024. Reception from 6pm, Lecture 7pm. The Warburg Institute, Woburn Square WC1H 0AB Register your attendance by clicking this link by 30th October.
The lecture is free, but booking is required. Please bring your ticket with you.
