TABLE OF CONTENTS The Victoria and Albert Museum is the National Museum of Art and Design in the UK, devoted to increasing the understanding and enjoyment of art, craft and design through its collections.
The V&A Museum was originally opened in 1852 as a Museum of Manufacturing, situated in the centre of London, in Marlborough House. The museum moved in 1857 to the fields of Brompton, where it became known as the 'South Kensington Museum'. In 1899 it was renamed 'The Victoria and Albert Museum' in honour of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Queen Victoria laid the new foundation stone of the new building in that year. It is not, however, a museum of Victoriana. The strength of the collections lie in the combination of great works of art with a broad range of objects of many different types and styles. It contains the national collections of furniture, silver, fashion, ceramics, glass, sculpture, watercolours, jewellery and photographs drawn from Britain and over the world, and spanning 4000 years.
The V&A is situated in South Kensington. It is near to other major museums of London The Science Museum and the Natural History Museum.
The main museum is situated on four floors and houses the core collections of sculpture, ceramics, furniture, glass, etc.
The guide book suggests that the visitor should walk around these galleries following colour-marked routes in the book.
The remainder of the exhibits are housed in the Henry Cole Wing, which...
