The John Ruskin Prize is a multidisciplinary art prize open to all artists, designers and makers, of all nationalities, aged 18 and over.

For The 8th John Ruskin Prize, you can submit from anywhere in the world. The prize is open to digital submissions to facilitate international entries. The Prize welcomes works in all mediums, including drawing, painting, print, sculpture, photography, textile, animation, mixed media, digital, performance, installation and more.

About The John Ruskin Prize 2026

The John Ruskin Prize aims to attract entries from a wide range of artists and makers. Work can be in the following artforms, however this is not an exhaustive list:

• Animation

• Ceramics 

• Collage, in all materials including photography

• Combined work using both traditional media and digital elements

• Digital artworks

• Drawings, in all formats

• Film / Video

• Glasswork in all forms, such as stained glass or engraved glass

• Installation

• Paintings, all kinds and in all formats

• Performative work, presented in a film format

• Photography

• Photographic elements, including those manipulated or collaged

• Print, including etching, printmaking and lettering in all mediums

• Sculpture, including lettering in all mediums

• Sculptural work with film/ animation elements

• Textiles and fabric

• Typography and Calligraphy

• Metalwork, including gold and silversmithing and heavy metalwork

If you have any questions on whether your artform is appropriate, please get in touch.

Prizes

1st Prize: £3000 (Made possible by support from John Ruskin’s charity, the Guild of St George)

Entry is eligible for all artists, designers and makers.

The 1st Prize is kindly supported by the Guild of St George. The Guild of St George inaugurated the first John Ruskin Prize in 2012 and has supported its development and evolution ever since. This prize aims to reflect a central thread of John Ruskin’s thought: that art has the power to reveal and celebrate universal truths, and that a good artist and maker in any medium should always be guided by that search.

The Alan Davidson Under 26 Prize: £1000

Entry is eligible for all artists, designers and makers aged under 26. This prize is kindly sponsored by The Alan Davidson Foundation.

Ruskin Mill Trust Prize: £3,000

Awarded for a beautifully crafted functional object.

Chelsea Arts Club Trust Prize for mid-career: £2,500

To be awarded to a mid-career artist who is dedicated to their practice for a significant number of years, and who is not currently under gallery representation.

The Selection Panel

Julian Wild: Artist

Mary Evans: Artist and Director of UCL Slate School

Neal Shasore: Author and Former Head of School/Cheif Executive of the London School of Architecture

The selection panels’ shortlist decision will be announced by email to all entrants, and subsequently announced by press release, published on ruskinprize.co.uk, and shared on social media. Up to 50 artists will be selected for the exhibition 'Patience in Looking, Truth in Making’ due to take place at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London from 29 January - 8 February 2026.

The selection panels’ decisions are final and binding; no correspondence can be entered into.

The theme PATIENCE IN LOOKING, TRUTH IN MAKING invites a deep exploration into the relationship between the acts of perception and creation and the journey from what we see to what we make. Work submitted to The John Ruskin Prize should thoughtfully engage with and interpret this theme, revealing how our careful observations of the world can be captured in the art we make and the objects we create.

The theme can be explored and interpreted in a myriad of ways. It invites us to consider how our observations of the world are translated through the act of making. For Ruskin, this process is not merely technical but deeply ethical, spiritual, and connected to the truth of nature. For Ruskin, the artist’s task is to observe the world with sincerity and humility and to translate that observation with skill and integrity. This perspective elevates the act of artistic creation to a moral and spiritual endeavour, where the connection between seeing and making becomes sacred.

The Sacredness of Seeing and Creating: Ruskin viewed the process of seeing and creating as a form of worship, a spiritual & physical practice where the artist connects with the divine through nature. The artist’s task is thus to reveal the beauty and truth of the world as an expression of divine creation.

Art as a Reflection of Character: Ruskin believed that the quality of an artist’s work was a direct reflection of their character. The accuracy and sincerity with which an artist translates their observations to their artwork are, therefore, indicative of their moral and spiritual integrity. The hand's ability to follow the eye with precision is not just a technical skill but a manifestation of the artist’s inner virtues.

Moral Responsibility: Ruskin saw art as not merely an aesthetic endeavour but a moral one. The process of translating what the eye sees into art is, in his view, tied to the artist's ethical responsibility. The artist's fidelity to nature is also a form of respect for the truth and an ethical obligation to represent the world honestly. This perspective encourages us to question the relationship between an artist’s personal values and their creative output. Can an artist produce work of moral and ethical value if their personal life is disconnected from these principles? Conversely, does an artwork’s moral worth depend solely on the artist’s character, or can it stand independently as a reflection of broader truths? This line of inquiry forces us to consider the intersection between an artist’s life, their work, and the messages conveyed through their art.

The Value of Craftsmanship: Ruskin placed a high value on craftsmanship and the skill involved in artistic creation. He believed that the hand’s work in art should be respected as a form of labour, imbued with dignity and integrity. The artist’s role is not just to execute the eye’s vision or the maker’s imagination, but to do so with a level of craftsmanship that reflects the artist’s respect for their materials and for the act of creation itself.

Art as a Response to Industrialization: Ruskin’s ideas also have a socio-political dimension, particularly in his critique of industrialization. He lamented the loss of individual craftsmanship in the face of mass production. For Ruskin, truthful connection between the observed world and the maker’s hand offered resistance to the dehumanization he saw in industrial society, where the hand was increasingly and often forcefully separated from the creative spirit.

Ruskin’s Emphasis on Observation: Ruskin was a strong advocate for what he called "truth to nature." He believed that artists should closely observe nature and strive to depict it with utmost accuracy and fidelity. According to Ruskin, the eye's role is to capture the details and truth of the natural world without distortion or idealization. This raises the question: Should art always strive for literal accuracy in representing nature, or is there room for creative interpretation? While Ruskin championed fidelity, modern perspectives might argue that artistic expression also involves personal interpretation and emotional resonance. How do artists balance these aspects—and craftspeople meet practical considerations of utility – whilst still remaining truthful to what the eye sees at the same time as allowing the hand to explore more abstract or expressive representations?

Training the Eye: Ruskin placed great importance on the training of the artist's eye. He believed that before an artist could properly reflect the world through their hand, they needed to learn how to see it truthfully. This involved cultivating a deep and detailed understanding of the natural world, learning to notice the subtleties in light, form, material and texture that others might overlook and recognising the skills and achievements of the past. He believed that by encountering such things as geological and other natural specimens and the art and architecture of the past, not only personal creativity but the general health of society would be enriched. The most prominent physical manifestation of that belief can be found today in the extraordinary Ruskin Collection, given for the benefit of the working people of Sheffield and now cared for by Sheffield Museums.

Ruskin and the Environment: Ruskin’s views on the increasingly industrialised environment of the nineteenth century seem to us now as extraordinarily prescient. Although viewed by many of his contemporaries as decidedly eccentric or just plain ‘wrong’, Ruskin was publicly outspoken about everything from the encroachment of railways and roads to the pollution of the air around the rapidly expanding industrial cities and the moral depredations of rampant capitalism. He believed that a proper response to these threats was an informed and honest appreciation of the art and architecture we value and the objects with which we surround ourselves.

Ruskin Today: While some of Ruskin’s ideas may seem at odds with contemporary artistic practices, they offer valuable insights into the role of truth, craftsmanship, and spirituality in the creative process. His emphasis on truth to nature, moral integrity, and the dignity of craftsmanship provides a counterpoint to modern tendencies towards abstraction, conceptualism, and digital art. His principles remind us that the act of creation is not just a technical process but a moral and spiritual endeavour where the eye and hand work in harmony to produce work of lasting value. However, the ongoing evolution of art and creative design invites us to reinterpret and adapt these principles, finding a balance between tradition and innovation, realism and imagination, technique, and concept. Ultimately, Ruskin’s ideas encourage artists and viewers alike to consider the deeper implications of art—to see it not just as a reflection of the world but as a way of engaging with it, questioning it, and finding meaning within it.

You may wish to read more through Ruskin’s writings:

‘Elements of Drawing’, ‘The Stones of Venice’ and ‘The Storm Cloud of the Nineteenth Century’ (all available in modern editions)