A grand design
Subtitle: the art of the Victoria and Albert Museum
By: Malcolm Baker and Brenda Richardson, general editors ; with research and essays by Anthony Burton ... [et al.].
Contributors: Baker, Malcolm.; Richardson, Brenda.; Burton, Anthony, 1942-; Baltimore Museum of Art.
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; Baltimore Museum of Art; Harry N. Abrams with the Baltimore Museum of Art
Published: 1997
Place of publication: New York; Baltimore
Language: eng
Number of pages: 431
Subjects: Victoria and Albert Museum -- Exhibitions; Victoria and Albert Museum; Art -- Exhibitions; Art -- England -- London -- Exhibitions
Genres: Exhibitions.
Description: 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.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 401-411) and index.
Catalog of a traveling exhibition shown at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and other museums Oct. 1997-Jan. 2000.