What do you think?
Rate this book
A grand design: The art of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Published in association with the exhibitions held at The Baltimore Museum of Art, 12 October 1997 - 18 January 1998 & and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London 14 October 1999 - 16 January 2000.
London's Victoria and Albert Museum houses one of the world's greatest art collections. Founded in 1852 as a pioneering museum of applied and decorative arts, today it has incomparable holdings spanning 2,000 years of artistic achievement in virtually every form: ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, furniture and woodwork, sculpture, textiles, paintings, drawings, and prints. "A Grand Design," published in conjunction with a major traveling exhibition, brings together more than 250 of the V&A's finest treasures and recounts the institution's rich and vibrant history. Collectively, these splendid objects illustrate how the museum sought to establish a canon of excellence for the decorative arts by acquiring examples of superior craftsmanship, aesthetic beauty, and artistic merit from many of the world's cultures. Essays by a team of scholars examine the V&A's origins, evolution, and influence. Several major themes are explored, including the V&A's pivotal place in the historical context of the art museum and its changing approaches to the collection and display of objects; the educational mission; the impact of factors such as British imperial history and national patrimony on the museum's collecting practices; and the museum's interest in the art of the twentieth century, including its involvement with contemporary artists and craftspeople. An illustrated chronology using rare archival material from the museum's collection traces the development of this remarkable institution.
London's Victoria and Albert Museum houses one of the world's greatest art collections. Founded in 1852 as a pioneering museum of applied and decorative arts, today it has incomparable holdings spanning 2,000 years of artistic achievement in virtually every form: ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, furniture and woodwork, sculpture, textiles, paintings, drawings, and prints. "A Grand Design," published in conjunction with a major traveling exhibition, brings together more than 250 of the V&A's finest treasures and recounts the institution's rich and vibrant history. Collectively, these splendid objects illustrate how the museum sought to establish a canon of excellence for the decorative arts by acquiring examples of superior craftsmanship, aesthetic beauty, and artistic merit from many of the world's cultures. Essays by a team of scholars examine the V&A's origins, evolution, and influence. Several major themes are explored, including the V&A's pivotal place in the historical context of the art museum and its changing approaches to the collection and display of objects; the educational mission; the impact of factors such as British imperial history and national patrimony on the museum's collecting practices; and the museum's interest in the art of the twentieth century, including its involvement with contemporary artists and craftspeople. An illustrated chronology using rare archival material from the museum's collection traces the development of this remarkable institution.
- GenresArt
431 pages, Hardcover
First published May 30, 1997
18 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 15, 2014
I am of course not reviewing this book. I am rather suggesting that the North American making a prolonged stay in London might consider visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum which has never enjoyed a particularly good reputation with cross-atlantic culture vultures.
The Grand Design is the catalogue of an extraordinary Exhibit of works from the Victoria and Albert Museum that toured North America in 1998. I attended in first at the MFA in Boston and then at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
I was astounded in Boston by the incredible range of works in the exhibit: French ivories, Victorian Wallpaper, a ball dress by Christian Lacroix, ceramiques by Andrea della Robbia, a 14th century wassailing table et finally the piece de la resistance a portrait of a Newfoundland Dog by Landseer.
Three months later I was surprised to discover that the Exhibit had arrived in Toronto. I quickly organized an outing involving my wife, her cousin from Poland and his wife. I also invited another couple who had spent a year in London who agreed only to meet us afterwords for coffee at an Viennese style café in the neighbourhood.
Having felt very proud of myself for having organized such a great outing, I asked my wife's cousin afterwards at the Café Mozart what part of the exhibit he had enjoyed the most.
"The exit. Unquestionably the exit," he replied. Instead of supporting me my two wasp friends laughed out loud. They said that their visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum had unquestionably been one of the low points of their 12 months in London.
Several months later my WASP friend looked at Grand Design coffee table book and said "Frankly it looks to me as if they did a great job making an exhibit out of all that dreadful stuff in the Victoria and Albert Museum. For an hour this must have been great fun. However, if you ever in London there are literally thousands of better ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than to go to Victoria and Albert."
The Grand Design is the catalogue of an extraordinary Exhibit of works from the Victoria and Albert Museum that toured North America in 1998. I attended in first at the MFA in Boston and then at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
I was astounded in Boston by the incredible range of works in the exhibit: French ivories, Victorian Wallpaper, a ball dress by Christian Lacroix, ceramiques by Andrea della Robbia, a 14th century wassailing table et finally the piece de la resistance a portrait of a Newfoundland Dog by Landseer.
Three months later I was surprised to discover that the Exhibit had arrived in Toronto. I quickly organized an outing involving my wife, her cousin from Poland and his wife. I also invited another couple who had spent a year in London who agreed only to meet us afterwords for coffee at an Viennese style café in the neighbourhood.
Having felt very proud of myself for having organized such a great outing, I asked my wife's cousin afterwards at the Café Mozart what part of the exhibit he had enjoyed the most.
"The exit. Unquestionably the exit," he replied. Instead of supporting me my two wasp friends laughed out loud. They said that their visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum had unquestionably been one of the low points of their 12 months in London.
Several months later my WASP friend looked at Grand Design coffee table book and said "Frankly it looks to me as if they did a great job making an exhibit out of all that dreadful stuff in the Victoria and Albert Museum. For an hour this must have been great fun. However, if you ever in London there are literally thousands of better ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than to go to Victoria and Albert."
Displaying 1 of 1 review