The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design. It began as a result of the Great Exhibition of 1851, when its profits and objects were used to set up a Museum of Manufactures to educate designers and the public, under the direction of Henry Cole. It moved to its present site in South Kensington in 1857 and was renamed in 1899, when Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone of a new building that was designed by Aston Webb. Its collections cover ceramics, fashion, furniture, glass, jewelry, metalwork, paintings, photography and sculpture from many cultures and periods. Entry to its permanent galleries has long been free.
Before and after
- October 1851Founding of Reuters
- 18 October 1851Publication of Moby-Dick
- 24 October 1851Discovery of Umbriel
- 24 October 1851Discovery of Ariel
- 1852Construction of Victoria and Albert Museum
- from 17 January 1852 to 31 May 1902South African Republic
- 3 February 1852Battle of Caseros
- 21 February 1852Death of Nikolai Gogol
- 20 March 1852Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
More in Art, literature & culture
- from 18th century to 19th centuryRomanticism
- 1830Publication of Book of Mormon
- 1890Rise of Art Nouveau
- c. 1900sRise of Expressionism
- 1907Rise of cubism
- c. 1910sRise of Dada
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.