Title: A grand design : the art of the Victoria and Albert Museum /
Authors: Baker, Malcolm.; Richardson, Brenda.; Burton, Anthony, 1934-; Baker, Malcolm, 1945-; Burton, Anthony, 1942-; Victoria and Albert Museum; Baltimore Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams with the Baltimore Museum of Art,
Year: 1997
Subjects: Victoria and Albert Museum Exhibitions.; Victoria and Albert Museum; Art Exhibitions; Art England London Exhibitions
Abstract: "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."--BOOK JACKET. "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."--BOOK JACKET.
Contents: Museums, collections, and their histories / Malcolm Baker -- The idealist enterprise and the applied arts / Michael Conforti -- The Victoria and Albert Museum : an illustrated chronology / Richard Dunn and Anthony Burton -- Industrial arts and the exhibition ideal / Peter Trippi -- Teaching by example : education and the formation of South Kensington's museums / Rafael Cardoso Denis -- An encyclopedia of treasures : the idea of the great collection / Timothy Stevens and Peter Trippi -- The empire of things : the engagement with the orient / Partha Mitter and Craig Clunas -- National consciousness, national heritage, and the idea of "englishness" / Charles Saumarez Smith -- Collecting the twentieth century / Christopher Wilk.