More about Victoria and Albert Museum
Contributor
Victoria married her first cousin Albert.
Their museum claims to have the worlds largest collection of artworks (over 4.5 million).
Sr. Editor
The Victoria and Albert Museum is in a part of town more exclusive than 90210 and neighbors with the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, French Consulate, and Kensington Gardens.
Sometimes referred to as Albertopolis due to the large number of projects Prince Albert supported in the area.
In a silly conspiracy theory that doesn't exist because I just made it up, something fit for a Dan Brown novel; a straight line can be drawn from the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens, between the Royal Albert Hall and Royal College of Music, to the Queen’s Tower of Imperial College London, and ending at the rear of the Science Museum. The points can only be seen from the Queen’s Tower, which is rarely open to visitors and requires an ascent of 325 steps. In Dan Brown’s hypothetical novel this would no doubt represent some sort of spiritual journey ending in a Jesus related revelation about the mysticism of life.
I mainly wanted to come here to see pretty dresses. I thought the halls would be lined with recognizable gowns from my favorite movies and fashion designers. Unfortunately, that kind of ostentatious display is reserved for those special exhibitions you have to pay for. In the free area they have a very lovely display of the history of fashion, though only one or two dresses I would consider worthy of a Thomas Crown style heist for my dream closet. There's a ton to see and if you don't take regular breaks you may just drop dead. The upper floors seem to have more benches per room to prevent an untimely demise. I can neither confirm nor deny that I had a quick nap in the glass room on the fourth floor. Also, snacks. Bring lots of quiet snacks you can hide from the guards.
Some historical nuggets:
- Sir Henry Cole, the inventor of the Christmas card, was the greatest supporter of developing the museum and became its first director. One of Cole’s first Christmas Cards sold in 2001 for £22,500.
- In 1893, the museum collection was officially split to divide the science and art collections thus creating the new Science Museum.
- Queen Victoria made her last official public appearance when she laid the foundation stone for the Science Museum in 1899 and it was announced that the art museum’s name would be changed from the South Kensington Museum to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
- During World War I, an unused tunnel that connected part of the South Kensington tube and the museum was used by the V&A to store art and by Buckingham Palace to store china.
- During World War II, collections were sent to quarries and houses in the country and some went to the nearby defunct Aldwych tube station. Galleries were used as classrooms and later a canteen for soldiers.
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Here is what Wikipedia says about Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A or VAM) in the United Kingdom is the world's largest museum of applied and decorative arts, design, and historical craft traditions—with a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects housed across 6 sites. It was founded in 1852 as the Museum of Manufactures, and subsequently renamed in honour of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
The V&A's main London site is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in an area known as "Albertopolis" due to the many cultural institutions, monuments, and other features that bear Prince Albert's name, or with which he was associated. In addition to the Victoria and Albert Museum, these include the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Imperial College, Royal Albert Hall, Prince Consort Road, and the Albert Memorial.
The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is "a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity"; its stated goal is "to champion design and creativity in all its forms, advance cultural knowledge, and inspire makers, creators and innovators". As with other national British museums, entrance is free.
In addition to its South Kensington site, the Victoria and Albert Museum has the following venues:
- V&A Dundee in Dundee, Scotland (opened in 2018)
- V&A East Museum in Stratford, London (opened 2026)
- V&A East Storehouse in Stratford, London (opened 2025)
- V&A Wedgwood Collection in Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent (formerly the Wedgwood Museum, acquired in 2014)
- Young V&A in Bethnal Green, London (formerly the Museum of Childhood)
The main London site covers 12.5 acres (5.1 ha) and has 145 galleries. "Its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day" and includes pieces from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia—including works from South Asia, China, Japan, Korea, and the Islamic world. The East Asian collections are particularly strong in ceramics and metalwork, while the Islamic collection is amongst the largest in the Western world.
The museum holds one of the largest collections of post-classical sculpture, with its collection of Italian Renaissance sculpture being the largest outside of Italy, however, the art of antiquity in most areas is not the V&A's primary focus. The holdings of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, jewellery, silver, metalwork, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints, drawings, and photographs are also amongst the world's largest and most comprehensive.
Overall, the Victoria and Albert is one of the largest museums in the world.
Check out the full Wikipedia article about Victoria and Albert Museum
