Robert Alwyn Petrie Hewison (born 2 June 1943)
[‘HEWISON, Prof. Robert Alwyn Petrie’, Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 200]
accessed 26 March 2008
is a British
cultural historian.
He was educated at
Bedford School
Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...
,
Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, and
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...
, where he graduated
BA in 1965,
MA in 1970,
MLitt in 1972, and
DLitt in 1989.
For most of his professional life he has made a living as a freelance writer and curator and he has written for ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' since 1981.
[Profile from Demos website (accessed 26 March 2008)](_blank)
Among his academic appointments he was visiting professor at
De Montfort University
De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...
from 1993 until 1995; he then held a number of appointments at the
University of Lancaster
Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...
as Professor in Literary and Cultural Studies (1995–2000), part-time professor in the Department of English (2001). He was
Slade Professor of Fine Art
The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London.
History
The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collect ...
in the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
1999/2000, lecturing on the subject '
Ruskin Ruskin may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Ruskin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Ruskin (given name), a list of people
Places United States
* Ruskin, Florida, a census-designated place
* Ruskin, Georgia, an uni ...
To-day'. From 2005 to 2012 he was Professor of Cultural Policy and Leadership Studies at
City University, London.
Currently he is an honorary professor at the
Ruskin Centre,
Lancaster University
Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...
. He is currently chair of Ruskin To-Day, the informal co-ordinating committee for the celebration of Ruskin’s bicentenary in 2019, Ruskin200.
In an interview,
Michael Palin
Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...
(his contemporary at
Brasenose) credited Hewison with introducing him to the idea of earning a living by making people laugh, and for pushing him into performing, which,
Palin says, he would never have done as he was too shy.
Publications
*''Passport to Peckham: Culture and Creativity in a London Village'' (Goldsmiths Press, 2022)
*''John Ruskin: Giotto and his works in Padua''
ntroduction by Robert Hewison(David Zwirner Books, 2018)
*''Ruskin and his Contemporaries'' (Pallas Athene, 2018)
*''Cultural Capital: The Rise and Fall of Creative Britain'' (Verso, 2014)
*(with Chris Orr), ''Chris Orr: The Making of Things'' (Royal Academy Publications, 2013)
*''John Byrne: Art & Life'' (Lund Humphries, 2011)
*(with John Holden), ''The Cultural Leadership Handbook: How to run a Creative Organization'' (Gower, 2011)
*''Ruskin on Venice: The Paradise of Cities'' (Yale University Press, 2009)
*''John Ruskin'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007)
*(with John Holden), ''Experience and experiment: the UK Branch of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 1956-2006'' (London: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, United Kingdom Branch, 2006)
*Edited, ''"There is no wealth but life": Ruskin in the 21st century'' (Lancaster: Ruskin Foundation, 2006)
*''Not a sideshow: leadership and cultural value: a matrix for change'' (London: Demos, 2006)
*''Chris Orr's John Ruskin and other stories, 14 October-23 December 2004'' (Lancaster: Ruskin Library, Lancaster University, 2004)
*(with John Holden), ''The right to art: making aspirations reality'' (London: Demos, 2004)
*''An address delivered in Saint Andrew's Church, Coniston, on the centenary of the death of John Ruskin, by Robert Hewison, Slade Professor of fine art in the University of Oxford, 20 January 2000'' (Great Britain: Cygnet Press, 2003)
*(with Ian Warrell and Stephen Wildman), ''Ruskin, Turner and the Pre-Raphaelites'' (London: Tate Gallery, 2000)
*Edited, ''Ruskin's artists: studies in the Victorian visual economy: papers from the Ruskin Programme, Lancaster University'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000)
*''Ruskin's Venice'' (London: Pilkington, 2000)
*''Towards 2010: new times, new challenges for the arts'' (London: The Arts Council of England, 2000)
*''Ruskin and Oxford: the art of education'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996)
*''Culture and Consensus: England, Art and Politics Since 1940'' (London: Methuen, 1995, revised edn 1997)
*''Future tense: a new art for the nineties'' (London: Methuen, 1990)
*''The heritage industry: Britain in a climate of decline'' (London: Methuen London, 1987)
*''Too much: art and society in the Sixties, 1960-75'' (London: Methuen, 1986)
*John Ruskin, edited, with an introduction, notes, and appendix by Robert Hewison, ''Catalogue of the Rudimentary Series: in the arrangement of 1873 with Ruskin's comments of 1878'' (London: Lion and Unicorn, 1984)
*''Footlights!: a hundred years of Cambridge comedy'' (London: Methuen London, 1983)
*''Art and Society: Ruskin in Sheffield 1876'' (London: Published for the Guild of St George by Brentham, 1981)
*''In anger: culture in the Cold War, 1945-60'' (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1981, revised edn London: Methuen, 1988)
*''
Monty Python
Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...
: the case against: irreverence, scurrility, profanity, vilification and licentious abuse'' (London: Methuen, 1981)
*Edited, ''New approaches to Ruskin: thirteen essays'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981)
*''Under siege: literary life in London 1939-45'' (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1977, Newton Abbot: Readers Union, 1978, London: Quartet Books, 1979, revised edn London: Methuen, 1988)
*''Ruskin and Venice'' (London: Thames and Hudson, 1978)
*''John Ruskin: the argument of the eye'' (London: Thames and Hudson; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976)
References
Publications list derived fro
Oxford Library catalogueand
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
Integrated Catalogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewison, Robert
1943 births
Living people
Academics of Lancaster University
Academics of De Montfort University
Academics of City, University of London
Slade Professors of Fine Art (University of Oxford)
Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford
English art historians
English curators
The Sunday Times people
People educated at Bedford School