Inside the Crystal Palace: The must-see exhibition of Victorian England

 

Join an exclusive visit to the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first World’s Fair, which took place inside the Crystal Palace of Hyde Park 170 years ago this summer.  

Pieced together from written accounts, early photos and paintings held inside the V&A archive, the Museum’s Keeper of Word and Image, Julius Bryant, leads this illustrated stroll through the blockbuster exhibition of Victorian England, where you can admire the most popular and extraordinary works of art and industry. 

It is a tour that will celebrate the range of both manufactured goods and the fine art on show.  

While much has been written of the Exhibition as a celebration of British Industry and a seminal moment in the birth of retail culture and consumerism, it was much more than that. In this guided talk Julius will investigate how the Exhibition also met Prince Albert’s aim to educate and open up appreciation of fine art to the masses.