History Group

About the History Group

The National Gallery History Group was launched in 1999, to mark the 175th anniversary of the founding of the National Gallery. This discussion group aims to explore issues related to the history of the Gallery and other national museums and galleries.

Past topics have included the architecture of the Gallery, Kenneth Clark, the Layard Bequest, the history of collecting and the Anrep mosaics.

Meetings are normally held three times a year, last for just over an hour and include a main paper of about 45 minutes in length, followed by some discussion on the points raised.

The meetings are open to anyone with an interest in the history of the Gallery or museums and galleries in general. They will be of particular interest to users of the Gallery Archive and Dossiers, as well as colleagues from other museums, academic establishments and organisations.

Join the History Group mailing list

Contact us if you would like to be placed on our mailing list:
lad@ng-london.org.uk

National Gallery Archive
The National Gallery
Trafalgar Square
London WC2N 5DN

Tel: 020 7747 2831
Fax: 020 7747 2892

History Group: next meeting

Old Masters in ‘Albertopolis’: the National Gallery at the V&A
Julius Bryant, Keeper of Word and Image at the V&A
Thursday 1 December, 5.45–7pm
Education Centre Rooms 2/3
All welcome – RSVP to nicholas.donaldson@ng-london.org.uk or 020 7747 2576

About the talk

Prince Albert died 150 years ago, on 14 December 1861. In Bonn, where he went to university, Germany’s national exhibition hall is presenting 'Art and Design for All: The Victoria & Albert Museum' (18 November–9 April 2012).

The exhibition tells the early history of the V&A through over 400 objects. Traditionally, the V&A’s origins and aims are traced from the Government School of Design, the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the competing ambitions of the first director, Henry Cole and of the first chief curator, J C Robinson.

This exhibition and its catalogue place Prince Albert back at the helm by seeing the V&A as one part of his goal to create London’s first cultural quarter, dubbed by its critics ‘Albertopolis’. A key factor embraced by Albert was Parliament’s plan to relocate the National Gallery to Kensington. Drawing mainly on documents held by the 1851 Commissioners, this paper will present Albert’s detailed architectural plans (exhibited for the first time, in Bonn) and explore the implication of his intellectual vision for the early collections of the V&A.

About Julius Bryant

Julius Bryant is Keeper of Word and Image at the V&A, with responsibility for paintings, prints, drawings, photographs and the National Art Library. He is co-curator of the exhibition in Bonn and editor of the catalogue.