Editing Victoria and Albert Museum (section)

==History==
=== Foundation ===
[[File:HenryCole2.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Henry Cole (inventor)|Henry Cole]], the museum's first director]]
[[File:Victoria and Albert Museum courtyard frieze detail.jpg|thumb|Frieze detail from internal courtyard showing Queen Victoria in front of the 1851 Great Exhibition]]
The Victoria and Albert Museum has its origins in [[the Great Exhibition]] of 1851. [[Henry Cole (inventor)|Henry Cole]] was the museum's first director, he was also involved in the planning. Initially the V&A was known as the '''Museum of Manufactures'''.<ref name="Physick 1982">{{cite book | last=Physick | first=John Frederick | title=The Victoria and Albert Museum, the history of its building | publisher=Phaidon, Christie's | publication-place=Oxford | year=1982 |url=https://archive.org/details/victoriaalbertm00phys |url-access=registration | oclc=558942717 | page=16| isbn=978-0-7148-8001-3 }}</ref> The first opening to the general public was in May 1852 at [[Marlborough House]]. By September the collection had been transferred to [[Somerset House]]. At this stage, the collections covered both applied art and science.<ref>{{cite book| title=Survey of London XXXVIII: The Museums Area of South Kensington and Westminster|first=F.H.W. |last=Sheppard | year=1975| page=248}}</ref> Several of the exhibits from the opening Exhibition were purchased by the museum to form the kernel of the V&A collection.{{sfn|Physick|1982|p=19}}

By February 1854 discussions were underway to transfer the museum to the current site{{sfn|Physick|1982|p=22}} and the museum was renamed '''South Kensington Museum'''. In 1855 the German architect [[Gottfried Semper]], at the request of Cole, produced a design for the museum, but it was rejected by the [[Board of Trade]] as too expensive.<ref>Harry Francis ''Gottfried Semper: Architect of the Nineteenth Century'' 1996 Mallgrave p. 226</ref> The current site was occupied by Brompton Park House, which was extended in 1857 to include the first refreshment rooms. The V&A was the first museum in the world to provide researchers and guests a [[catering]] service.{{sfn|Physick|1982|p=30}}<ref name="FerrenNYT-2024" />

The official opening by [[Queen Victoria]] was on 20 June 1857.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://qvj.chadwyck.com/marketing.do|title=Queen Victoria's Journals – Information Site |publisher=qvj.chadwyck.com}}</ref> In the following year, late-night openings were introduced, made possible by the use of [[gas lighting]]. In the words of museum director Cole gas lighting was introduced "to ascertain practically what hours are most convenient to the working classes".{{sfn|Physick|1982|p=35}} To raise interest for the museum among the [[target audience]], the museum exhibited its collections on both applied art and science. The museum aimed to provide educational resources and thus boost the productive industry.{{sfn|Sheppard|1975|p=248}}

In these early years the practical use of the collection was very much emphasised as opposed to that of "[[High Art]]" at the [[National Gallery (London)|National Gallery]] and scholarship at the [[British Museum]].{{sfn|Sheppard|1975|p=97}} [[George Wallis]] (1811–1891), the first Keeper of Fine Art Collection, passionately promoted the idea of wide art education through the museum collections. This led to the transfer to the museum of the School of Design that had been founded in 1837 at Somerset House; after the transfer, it was referred to as the Art School or Art Training School, later to become the [[Royal College of Art]] which finally achieved full independence in 1949. From the 1860s to the 1880s the scientific collections had been moved from the main museum site to various improvised galleries to the west of [[Exhibition Road]].{{sfn|Sheppard|1975|p=248}} In 1893 the "Science Museum" had effectively come into existence when a separate director was appointed.{{sfn|Sheppard|1975|p=252}}

[[File:Old Houses on Site of Victoria and Albert Museum, 1899 by Philip Norman.jpg|thumb|Old Houses on Site of Victoria and Albert Museum, 1899 by [[Philip Norman (artist)|Philip Norman]]]]
Queen Victoria returned to lay the foundation stone of the Aston Webb building (to the left of the main entrance) on 17 May 1899.{{sfn|Physick|1982|p=252}} It was during this ceremony that the change of name from 'South Kensington Museum' to 'Victoria and Albert Museum' was made public. Queen Victoria's address during the ceremony, as recorded in ''[[The London Gazette]]'', ended: "I trust that it will remain for ages a Monument of discerning Liberality and a Source of Refinement and Progress."<ref name="London Gazette">{{London Gazette |issue=27081 |date=19 May 1899 |page=3186}}</ref>

The exhibition which the museum organised to celebrate the centennial of the 1899 renaming, ''A Grand Design'', first toured in North America from 1997 ([[Baltimore Museum of Art]], [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]], [[Royal Ontario Museum]], Toronto, [[Museum of Fine Arts, Houston]] and the [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]), returning to London in 1999.<ref name="ArtMag">{{cite web |url=http://www.artmag.com/museums/a_greab/agblova/agblova5.html |title=A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum |publisher=ArtMag.com }}</ref> To accompany and support the exhibition, the museum published a book, ''Grand Design'', which it has made available for reading online on its website.<ref name="Grand Design">{{cite web |url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1159_grand_design/ |title=A Grand Design: A History of the Victoria and Albert Museum |publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum |date=29 July 2015 }}</ref>

=== 1900–1950 ===
The opening ceremony for the Aston Webb building by [[King Edward VII]] and [[Queen Alexandra]] took place on 26 June 1909.{{sfn|Physick|1982|p=246}} In 1914 the construction commenced of the [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum]], signaling the final split of the science and art collections.{{sfn|Sheppard|1975|p=254}}

In 1939 on the outbreak of the Second World War, most of the collection was sent to a [[Westwood, Wiltshire|quarry in Wiltshire]], to [[Montacute House]] in Somerset, or to a tunnel near [[Aldwych tube station]], with larger objects remaining ''in situ'', sand-bagged and bricked in.{{sfn|Physick|1982|p=269}} Between 1941 and 1944 some galleries were used as a school for children [[Evacuation of the Gibraltarian civilian population during World War II#London|evacuated]] from [[Gibraltar]].{{sfn|Physick|1982|p=270}} The South Court became a canteen, first for the [[Royal Air Force]] and later for Bomb Damage Repair Squads.{{sfn|Physick|1982|p=270}}

Before the return of the collections after the war, the ''[[Britain Can Make It]]'' exhibition was held between September and November 1946,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vads.ahds.ac.uk/learning/designingbritain/html/bcmi_intro.html |title=Designing Britain&nbsp;– BCMI Introduction |publisher=Vads.ahds.ac.uk |date=20 December 2002 |access-date=12 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515023754/http://vads.ahds.ac.uk/learning/designingbritain/html/bcmi_intro.html |archive-date=15 May 2011 }}</ref> attracting nearly a million-and-a-half visitors.<ref name="tonic"/> This was organised by the [[Council of Industrial Design]], established by the British government in 1944 "to promote by all practicable means the improvement of design in the products of British industry".<ref name="tonic">{{cite book |editor1-last=Banham |editor1-first=Mary |editor2-last=Hillier |editor2-first=Bevis |title=A Tonic to the Nation: The Festival of Britain 1951 |location=London |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=1976 |page=58 }}</ref> The success of this exhibition led to the planning of the [[Festival of Britain]] to be held in 1951. By 1948 most of the collections had been returned to the museum.

=== Since 1950 ===
[[File:VandA Rotunda.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|In 2000, [[V&A Rotunda Chandelier|an 11-metre high, blown glass chandelier]] by [[Dale Chihuly]] was installed as a focal point in the rotunda at the V&A's main entrance]]
In July 1973 as part of its outreach programme to young people, the V&A became the first museum in Britain to present a rock concert. The V&A presented a combined concert/lecture by the British progressive folk-rock band [[Gryphon (band)|Gryphon]], who explored the lineage of medieval music and instrumentation and related how those contributed to contemporary music 500 years later. This innovative approach to bringing young people to museums was a hallmark of the directorship of Sir [[Roy Strong]] and was subsequently emulated by some other British museums.

In the 1980s Strong renamed the museum as "The Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Museum of Art and Design". Strong's successor [[Elizabeth Esteve-Coll]] oversaw a turbulent period for the institution in which the museum's curatorial departments were re-structured, leading to public criticism from some staff. Esteve-Coll's attempts to make the V&A more accessible included a criticised marketing campaign emphasising the café over the collection.

In 2001 the museum embarked on a major £150m renovation programme, called the "FuturePlan".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/1937015.stm |title=ARTS &#124; V&A to have £150m facelift |publisher=BBC News |date=18 April 2002 |access-date=12 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/futureplan-completed-projects/ |title=Completed FuturePlan projects  |publisher=V&A}}</ref> The plan involves redesigning all the galleries and public facilities in the museum that have yet to be remodelled. This is to ensure that the exhibits are better displayed, more information is available, access for visitors is improved, and the museum can meet modern expectations for museum facilities.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/futureplan |title=FuturePlan |publisher=V&A}}</ref> A planned [[Victoria and Albert Museum Spiral|Spiral building]] was abandoned; in its place a new Exhibition Road Quarter designed by [[Amanda Levete]]'s [[AL_A]] was created.<ref>{{cite web |first=Federica |last=Lusiardi |title=The renovated V&A by Amanda Levete Architects |url=https://www.inexhibit.com/case-studies/london-the-renovated-va-by-amanda-levete-architects/ |publisher=inexhibit |date=27 April 2016 |access-date=19 March 2017}}</ref> It features a new entrance on [[Exhibition Road]], a porcelain-tiled courtyard (inaugurated in 2017 as the Sackler Courtyard and renamed the [[Exhibition Road Courtyard]] in 2022)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thorpe |first1=Vanessa |last2=Walters |first2=Joanna |title=V&A drops financial ties with Sackler family over links with opioids |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/oct/01/campaigners-celebrate-as-va-severs-sackler-links-over-opioids-cash |access-date=12 March 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=1 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-03 |title=London's Victoria and Albert museum announces it will 'no longer carry the Sackler name' |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/10/03/londons-victoria-and-albert-museum-announces-it-will-no-longer-carry-the-sackler-name |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=The Art Newspaper – International art news and events}}</ref> and a new 1,100-square-metre underground gallery space (the Sainsbury Gallery) accessed through the Blavatnik Hall. The Exhibition Road Quarter project provided 6,400 square metres of extra space, which is the largest expansion at the museum in over 100 years.<ref name=dezeen /> It opened on 29 June 2017.<ref name="quarter opening" />

In March 2018, it was announced that the [[Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge|Duchess of Cambridge]] would become the first royal patron of the museum.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/978255287214858240 |title=Kensington Palace on Twitter |publisher=Twitter |access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref> On 15 September 2018, the first V&A museum outside London, [[V&A Dundee]], opened.<ref name="moore" /> The museum, built at a cost of £80.11m, is located on Dundee's waterfront, and is focused on Scottish design, furniture, textiles, fashion, architecture, engineering and digital design.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-45521686 |title=V&A Dundee opens its doors to the world |date=15 September 2018 |publisher=BBC }}</ref> Although it uses the V&A name, its operation and funding is independent of the V&A.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-42718534|title=Everything you need to know about the V&A Dundee |date=12 September 2018 |publisher=BBC }}</ref>

The museum also runs the [[Young V&A]] at [[Bethnal Green]], which reopened on 1 July 2023;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Charman |first1=Helen |title=Young V&A – Countdown to Summer 2023 |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/news/young-va-countdown-to-summer-2023 |website=Victoria and Albert Museum |date=March 2023 |access-date=12 March 2023}}</ref> it used to run [[Apsley House]], and also the [[Theatre Museum]] in [[Covent Garden]]. The Theatre Museum is now closed; the V&A Theatre Collections are now displayed within the South Kensington building.