VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM |
A museum housing the largest collection of decorative art and design pieces in the world
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Highlights |
Fashion Galleries
British Galleries
Sculpture Collection
Ceramics Collection
Architecture Galleries
Henry Cole Wing
Visitor Information |
The Victoria and Albert Museum is open daily 10am to 5:45pm, open late Fridays. Entry is FREE.
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The V&A
– as this museum is often known – houses the largest collection of
decorative art and design pieces in the world. It covers china,
architecture, fashion, furniture and pictures. And with a £150-million
renovation program put into action just seven years ago, it looks as
though the Victoria and Albert Museum will continue to keep its place
as one of London's top museums.
A blown glass chandelier is the focal point in the V&A's main entrance
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Did You Know?
Contained within the museum's collection are old books and papers, used
centuries ago by such creative greats as Beatrix Potter, Charles
Dickens, and even Leonardo Da Vinci, whose old sketchbooks are now here.
The Dalou Masterpiece
Photo Copyright Khanster (CC)
Some
of the statistics associated with the V&A are truly impressive. It
contains the world's largest collection of post-classical sculpture,
and the most Italian Renaissance pieces outside Italy. It is a world
leader in Islamic and East Asian art. The 4.6 million objects owned by
the museum cover a longer time span than the entire history of human
society, and these items come in every medium ever known by the
artistic community. This impressive collection is displayed to an
average of two-and-a-half million visitors a year, in 145 galleries
spread across a massive 12 and a half acre site.
The ceramic staircase
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These
achievements have earned the V&A a string of awards. Most recently,
the organisation ‘Visit London’ declared it to be their 2007 gold
winner - and therefore the best attraction in the city. It was also
announced as the British museum of the year in 2003, and won an award
for modernism in 2006. Even its interiors are garnering praise, with
both its display cases and its cafe winning interior design awards in
the last two years.
Cast Court - Plaster casts of various European monuments
Did You Know?
At one time, the museum was seriously considering putting £80 million into a new extension called The Spiral. The plan was eventually discarded, partly after some critics described the design as “looking like jumbled cardboard boxes”
An exhibition of Metalwork
Photo Copyright gailf548 (CC)
Part
of the reason for this success is because of the V&A's ability to
modernise. Despite being established over 150 years ago, the museum has
proven to be one of the best at keeping up with the advancement of
humanity. Recent exhibitions range all the way from a look at 19th
century gothic architecture, to an in-depth review of Kylie Minogue's
career. Such variation helps to draw in visitors from all walks of
life; which in turn helps the museum to show off its unique collection
of art to as big an audience as possible.
A cast of the tomb of King Richard 1st; the original is in Fontevrault, France
Photo Copyright moria (CC)
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