Editing John Ruskin (section)

===Brantwood and final years===
[[File:John Ruskin's grave, and family plot - geograph.org.uk - 1231315.jpg|thumb|Grave of John Ruskin, in [[Coniston, Cumbria|Coniston]] churchyard]]
In August 1871, Ruskin purchased, from [[W. J. Linton]], the then somewhat dilapidated [[Brantwood]] house, on the shores of [[Coniston Water]], in the English [[Lake District]], paying £1500 for it. Brantwood was Ruskin's main home from 1872 until his death. His estate provided a site for more of his practical schemes and experiments: he had an ice house built, and the gardens comprehensively rearranged. He oversaw the construction of a larger harbour (from where he rowed his boat, the ''Jumping Jenny''), and he altered the house (adding a dining room, a turret to his bedroom to give him a panoramic view of the lake, and he later extended the property to accommodate his relatives). He built a reservoir and redirected the waterfall down the hills, adding a slate seat that faced the tumbling stream and craggy rocks rather than the lake, so that he could closely observe the fauna and flora of the hillside.<ref>For an illustrated history of Brantwood, see James S. Dearden, ''Brantwood: The Story of John Ruskin's Coniston Home'' (Ruskin Foundation, 2009).</ref>

Although Ruskin's 80th birthday was widely celebrated in 1899 (various Ruskin societies presenting him with an elaborately illuminated congratulatory address), Ruskin was scarcely aware of it.<ref>[https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man-scw:1m1674&datastreamId=POST-PEER-REVIEW-PUBLISHERS-DOCUMENT.PDF]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324235342/https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man-scw%3A1m1674&datastreamId=POST-PEER-REVIEW-PUBLISHERS-DOCUMENT.PDF|date=24 March 2012}}</ref> He died at Brantwood from [[influenza]] on 20 January 1900 at the age of 80.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 January 1900 |title=JOHN RUSKIN PASSES AWAY |pages=7 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/01/21/archives/john-ruskin-passes-away-author-dies-of-influenza-at-the-age-of.html |access-date=17 October 2023}}</ref> He was buried five days later in the churchyard at [[Coniston, Cumbria|Coniston]], according to his wishes.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 January 1900 |title=BURIAL OF JOHN RUSKIN. |pages=7 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/01/26/archives/burial-of-john-ruskin-mourners-from-all-parts-of-the-united-kingdom.html |access-date=17 October 2023}}</ref> As he had grown weaker, suffering prolonged bouts of mental illness, he had been looked after by his second cousin, Joan(na) Severn (formerly "companion" to Ruskin's mother) and she and her family inherited his estate. ''Joanna's Care'' was the eloquent final chapter of Ruskin's memoir, which he dedicated to her as a fitting tribute.<ref>For Ruskin's relationship with Joan Severn, see ''John Ruskin's Correspondence with Joan Severn: Sense and Nonsense Letters'' ed. Rachel Dickinson (Legenda, 2008).</ref>

Joan Severn, together with Ruskin's secretary, [[W. G. Collingwood]], and his eminent American friend [[Charles Eliot Norton]], were executors to his will. [[E. T. Cook]] and Alexander Wedderburn edited the monumental 39-volume ''Library Edition'' of Ruskin's ''Works'', the last volume of which, an index, attempts to demonstrate the complex interconnectedness of Ruskin's thought. They all acted together to guard, and even control, Ruskin's public and personal reputation.<ref>James Spates has written about the effects of this, based on the research work of Helen Viljoen. See James L. Spates, 'John Ruskin's Dark Star: New Lights on His Life Based on the Unpublished Biographical Materials and Research of Helen Gill Viljoen', ''Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester'', vol. 82, no. 1, Spring 2000 [published 2001], 135–91.</ref>

The centenary of Ruskin's birth was keenly celebrated in 1919, but his reputation was already in decline and sank further in the fifty years that followed.<ref>Stuart Eagles, ''After Ruskin: The Social and Political Legacies of a Victorian Prophet, 1870–1920'' (Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 246–48.</ref> The contents of Ruskin's home were dispersed in a series of sales at auction, and Brantwood itself was bought in 1932 by the educationist and Ruskin enthusiast, collector and memorialist, [[John Howard Whitehouse]].<ref>See James S. Dearden, ''Ruskin, Bembridge and Brantwood: the Growth of the Whitehouse Collection'' (Ryburn, 1994).</ref>

Brantwood was opened in 1934 as a memorial to Ruskin and remains open to the public today.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brantwood.org.uk/ |title=Museum, Arts Centre & Self Catering Accommodation Coniston |website=Brantwood.org.uk |date=14 April 2017 |access-date=18 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704091942/http://www.brantwood.org.uk/ |archive-date=4 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Guild of St George]] continues to thrive as an educational charity, and has an international membership.<ref>See {{cite web |url=http://www.guildofstgeorge.org.uk/ |title=The Guild of St George |website=guildofstgeorge.org.uk |access-date=23 January 2019 |archive-date=26 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226061214/https://www.guildofstgeorge.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Ruskin Society organises events throughout the year.<ref>See {{cite web |url=http://theruskinsociety.com/ |title=The Ruskin Society |website=theruskinsociety.com |access-date=23 January 2019 |archive-date=4 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904071719/https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/widget_iframe.f88235f49a156f8b4cab34c7bc1a0acc.html?origin=http%3A%2F%2Ftheruskinsociety.com |url-status=usurped }}</ref> A series of public celebrations of Ruskin's multiple legacies took place in 2000, on the centenary of his death, and events are planned throughout 2019, to mark the bicentenary of his birth.<ref>See {{cite web |url=http://www.ruskin200.com/ |title=Ruskin200 |website=ruskin200.com |access-date=23 January 2019 |archive-date=4 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904071743/https://redistats.com/track.js?gid=1zeolmnp&pid=315834&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ruskin200.com%2F&referrer= |url-status=live }}</ref>