What was remarkable to photographer Julia Margaret Cameron about her early work? The speed of production.

In 1864 Cameron wrote this about her first portrait: Here's "my first perfect success in this complete[d] photograph … taken by me at 1 p.m. Friday Jan. 29th. Printed, toned, fixed and framed all by me & given as it is now by 8 p.m. this same day."

Cameron's portraits captured famous Victorians in soft focus—Lord Tennyson, Ellen Terry, Charles Darwin, John Hersche, Alice Lidell, Henry Wadsworth. But critics ridiculed her use of the supposedly truthful medium—photography—to depict imaginary subjects. Her scenes from mythology, Christianity, and literature were inspired by Raphael, Michelangelo, and Shakespeare.

V&A forerunner, the South Kensington museum, collected and showed her work as pictures in their own right.

Here's one of Cameron's 900 photos, from 1865, depicting the bard's Prospero and Miranda.

#art #design #photography #photo #VictoriaAndAlbert #museum #Shakespeare

What makes Henry Beck's London subway map endure? It has no unnecessary detail.

His 1931 sketch, in coloured pencil and despite corrections, already shows the characteristics we still see today on transit maps worldwide. Management initially rejected Beck's idea—not map-like, too radical—but a 1933 trial proved it met the public's needs better than a geographically accurate map.

Most passengers don't need geographic accuracy or distances on a transit map. They need to know the start point, direction, transfer point, and end point. They want to count: "How many stops?" and "How many zones?" Some want to locate stair-free access.

Beck's Tube map resembles an electrical circuit, with different colours for different train lines. Stations are a simple mark, and a name. Connections are circles, and a name. There are now so many train lines that the latest version of Beck's map uses multiple line styles.

#art #design #transit #graphic #map #London #UK #Tube #Underground #VictoriaAndAlbert

What is a 1936 furry teacup? It's surreal.

Surrealists allow the unconscious mind to express itself in their illogical or dreamlike art. From the contradiction of dream and reality comes a super-reality, or surreality.

Artist Meret Oppenheim bought a teacup, saucer, and spoon from a department store in Paris and covered them in fur. The idea began in a nearby café, when she jokingly asked the waiter for "a little more fur" to insulate her cooling cup of tea. This work is the most frequently-cited example of sculpture in the surrealist movement.

In 1936—with Sigmund Freud's popularity—an oral-sexual interpretation was inevitable. The spoon? Phallic. The cup? Vaginal. The hair? Pubic. The whole sculpture was disconcerting: from decadent fur on animalistic household items to the thought of wet hair in the mouth. Others wanted to stroke the cup like a pet.

A New York museum curator bought it for about $50.

#MuseumOfModernArt #MoMA #NewYork #museum #art #design #surrealism #Oppenheim

Can 1960s UK be put in a box? It's been done.

English fashion photographer and TV commercial director David Bailey shaped the popular image of the UK's mid-60s cultural revolution. Back then, England's larger cities helped redefine activism, culture, art, and music, ranging from the anti-nuclear movement, sexual liberation, psychedelic subculture, supermodel Twiggy, and the miniskirt, to the global British Invasion of pop bands.

In 1964, Bailey published Box Of Pin-Ups with 36 loose photos of the fashionable and famous. The Box was a celebration of the growing celebrity culture. Four of the pin-ups were young women, the rest were the young men who fuelled the Swinging Sixties that Bailey photographed. Among them were Mick Jagger and The Beatles' song-writing duo John Lennon and Paul McCartney—the ultimate pin-ups of that era.

For more of these photos, see V&A's online catalogue: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/search/?id_gallery=THES49656&id_style=x37905&page=1&page_size=50&q_actor=David%2BBailey

#art #design #culture #VictoriaAndAlbert #museum #photo #photography #UK #The60s

Would you have your own name engraved on a gift you had made for someone else?

In 1713, when Queen Anne appointed Robert Benson, or 1st Baron Bingley, as ambassador to the Spanish court, he was sent with what are now known as the Bingley cups. Leading London goldsmith Phillip Rollos the Younger made these enormous cups, each with a cover and salver, to be displayed as status symbols when Bingley hosted officials and diplomats. The cups showed the wealth and skill of Britain.

To get a sense of the maker's skill, have a look at the description of the photo (in its ALT text).

Each cup is finely engraved, on the side, with Queen Anne's perfectly lettered monogram, AR—appropriate since Bingley was representing Anne.

Museums often hold such objects on behalf of the UK government, which accepts them as payment of inheritance tax bills. In this way, some of the crown's past wealth returns to the nation.

#BingleyCups #VictoriaAndAlbert #museum #art #design #silver #SilverSmith #tax #HMRC

What ancient Iranian medical treatment worked best? Prayer.

In the 3rd century, scientists from different civilizations gathered in Gundeshapur University (now Iran) to exchange ideas about the 3 kinds of treatment:
• medicine by the knife (surgery).
• medicine by herbs.
• medicine by divine words.
In pre-Islamic Iran, divine words were deemed more effective.

Medicinal herbs were dried, and could be worked into pills, salves, or syrups. These were stored in drug jars. Jars for syrup had a spout.

The fritware jar below was made of clay with added ground glass (frit) to lower the fusion or firing temperature. Tied parchment sealed the top; the lip held the tie in place.

Some jars were quite large (½ meter). This one, from the late 1100s, is relatively small at 19 centimeters. Later drug jars had a label glazed on, along with religious icons believed to affect the healing power of the jar's content.

#medicine #herb #drug #surgery #prayer #pottery #VictoriaAndAlbert #museum #Persia

“Have nothing … that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” —Wm Morris

A huge influence on the Arts and Crafts movement, William Morris revived block printing and vegetable dyeing. He set up looms for weaving tapestry and hand-knotting carpets in his home. His designs were also translated into stained glass. He was a knowledgeable textile historian, and fascinated by medieval history and medieval architecture.

Morris was the most successful textile designer and manufacturer of his day, with two London shops selling silk, cotton, and gauze. He designed and decorated parts of what’s now the Victoria & Albert. This museum has 1,100 objects connected to Morris—mainly textile and wallpaper, in various colours and scales, for interior decorating. Copyright on his repeating patterns of vegetation, flowers, and birds, recently expired, which fuelled a revival of these textile designs.

#applied #art #design #WilliamMorris #ArtsAndCrafts #VictoriaAndAlbert #museum #textile

Should coins depict sexual acts? Some did.

The British Museum has a collection of coins or tokens that Romans may have used to obtain entry to brothels, to pay prostitutes, or—if they didn't speak Latin—to indicate what they would like. The exact purpose of these coins is unclear, but they depicted sex acts between men as well as between men and women.

Today, stigma affects prostitutes and the participants alike. In ancient Rome it was more socially acceptable, though views varied. Brothels were a staple in vacation cities like Pompeii and Herculaneum—both cities were "frozen" in time, which is helpful for archaeologists studying Roman culture. Brothels used this form of coinage about 2,000 years ago. These coins, or spintriae, were not in general circulation.

Most are brass, about 2½ centimeters or 1 inch in diameter with an image on one side and a Roman numeral from I to XVI on the other side.

#BritishMuseum #spintria #coin #sex #sexuality #prostitution #SexWork #hetero #lgbt

What gift did the last ruling German royal give his gay lover? A vase.

From the 1880s, Queen Victoria's first grandchild and future Emperor Wilhelm II had a relationship with Prince Philipp zu Eulenburg. This ended two decades later due to the Harden-Eulenburg affair—a journalist reporting "homosexual" conduct at court. It outed Philipp Eulenberg and enveloped Wilhelm's cabinet—ministers, courtiers and army officers—in trials, libel suits and suicides for years. The press said Wilhelm had become depressed.

The affair led Germany to discuss homosexuality—just as the Oscar Wilde trial in England. Historians tie its aftermath to German foreign policy changes that heightened military aggression and led to World War I.

In happier days, Wilhelm II gave Philipp a huge porcelain vase, decorated in 3D floral- and reptile motifs. The vase was last sold in April 2026 by auction house Lempertz, in Berlin.

#art #design #lgbtq #homosexual #lgbt #royalty #KaiserWilhelmII #vase #porcelain #auction

Hermetic art: challenging easy interpretation

Diary of My Art - link to updated book in progress - in PDF format
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18BZ3LYxV--ZuPrlHY0_HZghzuhO_64_F/view?usp=sharing

#PAINTING #art #abstract #AbstractArt #Nature #MastoArt #fediart #MastoArt #Fediverse #ClimateChange #extinctions #TraditionalArt #HandmadeArt

Alt text - open PDF file to zoom in.

How many David Bowie masks does one museum need? Apparently, over 20.

The V&A has a series of Bowie masks, some representing the different characters he played as a rockstar.

Bowie was trained in drama, mime and dance, and he understood music as performance art. He pushed the boundaries of gender and sexuality during 1970s glam rock. He broke through with Ziggy Stardust, moved on to Aladdin Sane, then, in 1983, he produced his mainstream Let's Dance album and Serious Moonlight tour.

The plastic life mask, pictured, was painted to resemble Bowie's Aladdin Sane character. Aladdin Sane reflects Bowie's newfound stardom and experience touring the U.S. with images of urban decay, drugs, sex, violence, and death. Artist William Forsche painted this mask grey, with red lips, black eyelashes, and iconic lightning bolt across the face.

Have a look at more Bowie masks at the V&A by other artists: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/search/?page=1&page_size=15&q=Bowie%2Bmask

#art #design #DavidBowie #Bowie #mask #music #VictoriaAndAlbert #museum

A plaque for a museum vandal? Yes.

After decades of campaigning for the right to vote, in 1903 a Birmingham-led group of women switched to civil disobedience, window-smashing, bombing, and arson. One woman, Bertha Ryland, slashed art (below) in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

The right to vote is called suffrage, and the press called women activists suffragettes, intending to belittle them. Instead, the movement adopted this name. Protesters learned self-defense so they could escape police holds. Many were arrested, assaulted, and convicted. Several died. In prison they held hunger strikes, but were violently force-fed; it caused permanent organ damage in Ryland's case.

By 1918 some UK women got the vote. The slashed artwork was repaired. Over time, opinions changed and Ryland got a medal and, in 2018, a memorial plaque—inside the museum.

#women #feminism #suffragette #protest #activism #vote #CivilDisobedience #DirectAction #police #art #culture #vandalism #BirminghamMuseum

What adventurous setting inspired many children's toys? Outer space!

Toys from the 2 decades in which human spaceflight went from science fiction to reality—the 1950s and 1960s—added lights and sound, while Japan's toy manufacturers perfected the small motors that gave their toys much-prized movement.

Colourful examples from 1965 are: (clockwise) Astro 8 flying saucer by Marubishi-Yamazaki, Dan Dare Space Control Radio Station by JL Randall (1961), Moon Explorer by Masudaya, and Moon Rocket rocketship by Matsuya.

Such toys were usually battery powered, though Astro 8 was friction powered via its wheels. Space Control Radio Station had sound—handsets plugged in to the console, which had a Morse-code lever and scroll for decoding. Moon Rocket could simulate a landing; it mechanically set itself upright, opened a door, and then lowered a ramp.

Details are in the image descriptive ALT text.

#Art #Design #child #toy #Japan #UK #space #SpaceRace #moon #rocket #VictoriaAndAlbert #Museum

How did 1600s Dutch households keep their fire embers from going out at night? With a curfew.

Yes, it's a pun. Curfews were metal covers that kept fire embers smouldering overnight, to be revived for the next day's cooking and heating. The word curfew comes from the French for fire cover (couvre feu).

The brass one pictured here is among the earliest to survive, made in Holland but now in London's V&A. It's embossed with an image of Saint Lawrence.

This is dark humour, since Lawrence was roasted alive in the third century—punishment for perhaps the first Christian protest. The early church's refusal to worship Roman gods led to persecution. Lawrence was ordered to surrender the church's treasures to authorities. He turned up with the sick, marginalized, poor, elderly, and widows, boldly proclaiming: “These are the true treasures of the church.” For this insolence, he was martyred (killed).

#art #design #brass #heating #fire #religion #saint #martyr #VictoriaAndAlbert #museum #UK

Would you carry plant oil and perfume in tiny bottles around your neck? Romans did.

Perfume was used for its sensual pleasure, but also burned with offerings to appease the gods, and to ward off disease.

Rather than alcohol, the base of Roman perfume was oil and fat—olive, bitter almond oil—or the juice of unripe grapes.

The scented materials were mainly imported from Greek city states or other Mediterranean ports like Alexandria in Egypt. Roses, pomegranates, lavender, quinces, grapes, rosemary, basil and, if you could afford it, cinnamon myrrh, classic incense, resins, or roots.

Perfume was priced for its ingredients and bottle. Bottles could be highly decorated with gems, made of alabaster, bronze, lead, silver, or gold. Around their necks, Roman women would tie on a bottle shaped like a sphere, pear, dove, woman’s head, or cup. The ones pictured are tubes, from Rome and Alexandria.

See the ALT text.

#art #design #glass #bottle #perfume #AncientRome #VictoriaAnAlbert #museum

What does it take to design artistic mass-market goods? Producibility.

For his designs of household appliances and kitchen gadgets, Italian Pino Spagnolo looked beyond aesthetic and emotional factors to the cost of materials, which affects the final price of the item.

From the late 1980s, Spagnolo's design studio specialised in transposing day-to-day dreariness into the world of art. He did this not only with kitchenware—coffee pots, corkscrews, cutlery, vases, and bar sets—but also in transportation (motorcycles, trains, yachts) and interior architecture.

Producibility was key to the Turin-based design studio's success: understanding the production technologies of the company commissioning a design. To bring art into day-to-day household work, a manufacturer must be able to profitably make and sell an object at the right price.

V&A has 40 Spagnolo objects: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/context/organisation/A16695/pino-spagnolo-design-snc

#art #design #household #VictoriaAndAlbert #museum #tool #utensil #appliance

What could a bow shoot, besides arrows? Stones or pellets.

Pellet bows propel a pebble or clay pellet from a silk pouch on a double string.

The artistry is both in making the bow and string and in the shooting technique, or khatra. On releasing the string and pellet, archers must immediately move the bow—and the hand holding it—out of the path of the projectile, to avoid painful injury.

Pellet bows were used to hunt small game, on the ground or in flight.

Pictured is a bamboo galalee, goolal, or gulal, from mid-1800s Lahore, India. This bow has double strings of thin bamboo strips and blackened thread, joined in the centre by a sling attachment, for hurling clay pellets or stones. It's painted in green and gold, with ivory mountings.

This weapon was displayed in the India Museum from 1879, then transferred down the road in 1955 to the South Kensington, later the Victoria & Albert, then to the V&A's East Storehouse.

#design #art #weapon #bow #archery #VictoriaAndAlbert #museum #UK

What was singer Eartha Kitt known for, besides the definitive rendition of Santa Baby? Acting and activism.

There's her growling purr, a half-dozen songs on the 1950s pop charts, roles on stage and screen—famously as Catwoman to TV's Batman—and as a voice actor in later years. Her collaborator Orson Welles called her "The most exciting woman in the world." Kitt won a Tony and 3 Emmy awards. She died Christmas day, 2008.

In 1950s London, Tin Pan Alley and pop-scene photographer Harry Hammond took a series of black-and-white photos of Kitt. The #VictoriaAndAlbert #Museum now houses the negatives.

Eartha Kitt was also a peace and LGBT+ activist. During the 1960s Vietnam war, she berated her White-House luncheon hosts, saying: "You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder kids rebel and take pot." The fallout meant an unflattering CIA dossier and a career shift to Europe and Asia.

#art #design #photography #performance #EarthaKitt #BlackAndWhitePhotography

Can a cookie tin be a work of decorative art? Yes.

When the UK's Licensed Grocer's Act of 1861 first allowed the sale of individually packaged groceries, decorative cookie tins ("biscuit tins" in the UK) got their start. These simple metal boxes were soon embossed with 3D detail, and decorated with colourful lithographic prints.

They sold as Christmas gifts for children. (UK grocer Marks & Spencer continues the tradition.) Later tins appealed to adults, and decorated middle-class homes across Britain's empire.

By 1890, the mass-produced tins mimicked other objects in shape—first baskets, then collectable art like Chinese vases.

The 1912 "Bell" biscuit tin below has a faux copper finish. It's in the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection, and was made for Reading, UK, biscuit makers Huntley & Palmers. See the image description (ALT text) for details.

Today's biscuit tins are sometimes sold in UK fundraisers.

#art #design #VictoriaAndAlbert #museum #cookie #biscuit #tin #container

Which rock guitarist only took up playing at age 20? Jimi Hendrix.

Hendrix grew up poor and Black in the USA's Pacific northwest. At 19, he found himself in court facing a choice of 3 years in prison or 2 years in the Army—during the Vietnam war. He chose Army, quickly managed to get thrown out, and took up guitar. By 1966 he'd moved to England, where he rocketed to fame. Hendrix was the era's most influential instrumental guitarist.

This 1967 photo of Hendrix in his prime is by Linda Eastman, photographer of such 1960s music luminaries as Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, the Doors, the Who, and Neil Young. She was the first female photographer to make a Rolling Stone magazine cover. She was known for publicity shots of bands on tour, and intimate, behind-the-scenes photos.

Hendrix died at 27, in 1970 in London. Eastman died in 1998. Her husband, former Beatles singer Paul McCartney, donated her work to V&A about a decade ago.

#art #design #photograph #music #rock #guitar