Lost at the Victoria and Albert Museum in that there is so much to see that one barely knows where to start. But I had been here before, so chose to see new exhibitions—although the waiting lists for QUILTS 1700-2010 and for GRACE KELLY: Style Icon—were 3 to 4 hours long and so I skipped them—they were also quite expensive. Nevertheless, the glass and ceramics displays were superb as were the art galleries. Part of this blog will be images of my favourite pieces with minimal descriptions.
These elephants are all over--it is some sort of fund-raising campaign. This is the entrance to The Victoria & Albert Museum, my most liked. It is one I remember visiting as a hitch-hiking Boy Scout when I stayed at Baden-Powell House nearby in 1965.
The Dorothy and Michael Hintze scupture gallery, above and next.
Monument of Marchese Spinetta Malaspina 1430-35. Verona, Italy, from the church of San Giovanni in Sacco. Damaged and heavily restored 1886-88. Also, the tomb slab of Visconte Malaspina. Located the Medieval & Renaissance sculpture galleries.
A new exhibit, now being installed, is entitled 1:1--Architects Build Small Spaces--opening 15th June.
Very few visitors were in the Contemporary Glass exhibit. A glass stairway and balcony lined with glass railings is stunning.
An abstract image of the balcony railings.
Light in Space (2003) by Štepán Pala.
Optical glass: Slovakia (Bratislava)
Cross Head (1988) by Stanislas Libenský and Jaroslava Brychslová.
Mould-melted: Czechoslovakia
The Märit Rausing Gallery.
Pair of spirit flasks (1720-1730) by Ignazz Priessler.
Enamel: Bohemia
Vase & Cover (1840) by August Bohm.
Wheel-engraved: Bohemia
The Music Lesson (1765). Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory; modelled by Joseph Willems.
Soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamels and gilded; “the densely applied flower decoration here is characteristic of English taste.”
That means, I guess, “tacky.”
Flower pyramid, Delft (1690) “Metal Pot” Factory.
Tin-glazed earthenware, with decoration painted into the glaze: Holland.
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary (1900) Doulton & Co.
Earthenware, painted in underglaze colour.
ART NOUVEAU posters. The style developed at the turn of the century and was condemned by some for its sensuality, based on "the curvaceous forms of French Rococo with elements of Japanese design, naturalism and folk art."
The costume for the animal from RHINOCEROS blocks the poster announcing the new '60s music exhibit.
Box from the Palace Theatre of Varieties (1904) designed by Bertie Crewe.
From the Glasgow music hall, demolished in 1977.
The Theatre & Performance exhibit is wonderful. We Sheppards have acting in our blood. My parents were both actors, in community and amateur productions and, for my father, in radio dramas on CBC. My siblings all participated in community and university productions, and I was involved in theatre at the local university from age 8-18. My son was the University Medallist in Theatre, studied at Circle in the Square in New York, and has worked in film and television. My grandson's favourite "subject" here in the UK is drama.
The only thing I know about opera is that my father loved the music, and names and titles like D'OYLY CARTE and The Pirates of Penzance were heard around home all the time.
Costume for a Valkyrie from THE PRODUCERS (2004).
A display of theatrical headdresses.
Costume for the fairy in THE WOODEN PRINCE (1981).
Large Odalisque with Bayadère Culottes (1926) by Henri Matisse.
Lithograph
The Sleeping Woman (1947) by Pablo Picasso.
Lithograph
My favourite wall, featuring The Day Dream by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, an oil on canvas from 1881. Rossetti was the greatest of the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. [I wrote more about this painting in an earlier blog.]
Mrs Luke Ionides (1882) by William Blake Richmond.
Oil on canvas
Pierrot’s Funeral, illustration for JAZZ (1947) by Henri Matisse.
Pochoir print after gouache on paper cut-out: Paris
The National Art Library.
The John Madejski Garden.
One of the windows in the Morris, Gamble & Poynter Rooms, seating for the Cafe.
After The V & A, I sought out Harrods, but not to shop: prices are high and there were no sales on gold bullion--Section 16, Lower Ground Floor.
A grand antique car was parked outside, part of a promotion from Chantelle Paris for Passionata.
The Food Court--like none other. I cannot believe that anyone actually buys food for home here, but the butcher shop was incredible. I almost impulsively bought several pounds of Scottish Ox Tails, for another attempt at making ox-tail soup.
Decorative statuary at the seafood displays.
Part of the Egyptian-themed escalator core.
The awful memorial to Dodi & Diana. On Facebook I wondered whether it will survive changes likely with new ownership. Qatar Holdings, the sovereign-wealth fund, paid Mohamed Al-Fayed, owner of the store company, 1.5 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) for the store.
Some believe even the NAME will change. Qatar already owns chunks of Canary Wharf and Sainsburys Supermarkets, Barclays and The London Stock Exchange Group.
The ceiling of the Egyptian-motif escalator shaft.
The store is so large, I got lost! It seemed to me that Exits were not made obvious to "trap" you in the store. Eventually I chanced upon one--either Exit 10 or 11--with its gorgeous ceiling. Doormen dressed in full livery stood in the doorway, directing tourists and maybe even some shoppers.
In 1849, Henry Charles Harrod opened a small grocery shop on Brompton Road, which soon became famous for its impeccable service and quality. Sigmund Freud and Oscar Wilde were among early customers, amongst, I am certain, many more well-known people and modern-day celebrities. The store moved into these extravagant facilities in Knightsbridge in 1905.
I dropped into the Knightsbridge Underground Station next to the store, and took the Jubilee Line towards St. Paul's Cathedral. I wanted to walk across The Millennium Bridge over The Thames, to see exhibits at The Tate Modern.
1 comment:
I would have loved to have seen the Grace Kelly exhibit at the V & A Museum. And you are right...that memorial to Di & Dodi is downright awful! That food court is stunning...but it looks far too ostentatious for grocery shopping.
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