This summer The Ruskin has partnered with the Royal Society for the 2021 edition of Summer Science a week-long festival celebrating cutting edge UK science.

From 8^th July, explore two digital exhibitions co-curated by The Ruskin’s Director Professor Sandra Kemp and the Royal Society, Head of Library, Keith Moore. Both exhibitions are part of The Ruskin’s combined research and exhibition programmes on Google Arts and Culture.

Painting with Sunlight: Ruskin and Sciencehighlights drawings, paintings and daguerreotypesfrom Lancaster University’s Ruskin Whitehouse Collection, alongside works by Victorian scientists from the Royal Society archive. From the first photographic images of glaciers, to experimental studies of aerial perspective, to Ruskin’s colourful classification system for Alpine geology, discover nineteenth century innovations in art and science.

Ruskin attended the Royal Society Soirée in 1862 for astronomer Warren de la Rue’s lecture on the total eclipse of the sun. The Royal Society Summer Exhibition: Highlights from the Soirees looks back to the origins of the Summer Science festival in the interplay of the arts and sciences at these spectacular displays, from the 1840s to-date.

Curious to know more? Keep an eye out for the launch of The Ruskin’s programme, ‘Tomorrow’s World Today: Ruskin, Art and Science’, a year-round programme of digital exhibitions and events, opening in October as part of COP26 Festival at Lancaster University.