Robert Hewison
Encyclopedia
Robert Alwyn Petrie Hewison (born 2 June 1943) is a British
cultural historian
.
He was educated at Bedford School
, Ravensbourne College of Art and Design
, and Brasenose College, Oxford
, 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
since 1981. Among his academic appointments he was Visiting Professor at De Montfort University
from 1993 until 1995; he then held a number of appointments at the University of Lancaster as Professor in Literary and Cultural Studies (1995–2000), part-time Professor in the Department of English (2001), and Honorary Professor (2002). He was Slade Professor of Fine Art
in the University of Oxford
1999/2000, lecturing on the subject 'Ruskin
To-day'. He is now Visiting Professor at City University, London
.
In an interview, Michael Palin
(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.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cultural historian
Cultural history
The term cultural history refers both to an academic discipline and to its subject matter.Cultural history, as a discipline, at least in its common definition since the 1970s, often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular cultural traditions and cultural...
.
He was educated at Bedford School
Bedford School
Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Modern School or Bedford High School or Old Bedford School in Bedford, TexasBedford School is an HMC independent school for boys located in the town of Bedford, England, United Kingdom...
, Ravensbourne College of Art and Design
Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication
Ravensbourne is a university sector college innovating in digital media and design, with a vocationally focused portfolio of courses, spanning fashion, television and broadcasting, interactive product design, architecture and environment design, graphic design, animation, moving image, music...
, and Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
, where he graduated BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1965, MA in 1970, MLitt
Master of Letters
The Master of Letters is a postgraduate degree.- United Kingdom :The MLitt is a postgraduate degree awarded by a select few British and Irish universities, predominantly within the ancient English and Scottish universities.- England :Within the English University system MLitts are not universally...
in 1972, and DLitt
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
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 (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
since 1981. Among his academic appointments he was Visiting Professor at De Montfort University
De Montfort University
De Montfort University is a public research and teaching university situated in the medieval Old Town of Leicester, England, adjacent to the River Soar and the Leicester Castle Gardens...
from 1993 until 1995; he then held a number of appointments at the University of Lancaster as Professor in Literary and Cultural Studies (1995–2000), part-time Professor in the Department of English (2001), and Honorary Professor (2002). He was Slade Professor of Fine Art
Slade Professor of Fine Art
The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and London.-History:The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collector and philanthropist Felix Slade, with studentships also created in the University of...
in the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
1999/2000, lecturing on the subject 'Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
To-day'. He is now Visiting Professor at City University, London
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
.
In an interview, Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
(his contemporary at Brasenose
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
) credited Hewison with introducing him to the idea of earning a living by making people laugh, and for pushing him into performing, which, Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
says, he would never have done as he was too shy.
Publications
- 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: 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)