Exterior view of the roof of the South Kensington Museum ('the Brompton Boilers') under construction with the houses of Cromwell Road and Thurloe Square visible in the background
Photograph
1856 (photographed)
1856 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Photographs and photographers were present from the very beginning of the V&A's history and the Museum has an extensive collection of images from the 1850s through to the present which documents the construction and development of the V&A and the South Kensington site.
Originally collected by the National Art Library as part of a programme to record works of art, architecture and design in the interest of public education, these topographic and architectural views were valued as records and as source material for students of architecture and design. As well as being crucial records of the history of the V&A, and an important element within the National Art Library's visual encyclopaedia, these photographs are also significant artefacts in the history of the art of photography.
Originally collected by the National Art Library as part of a programme to record works of art, architecture and design in the interest of public education, these topographic and architectural views were valued as records and as source material for students of architecture and design. As well as being crucial records of the history of the V&A, and an important element within the National Art Library's visual encyclopaedia, these photographs are also significant artefacts in the history of the art of photography.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Exterior view of the roof of the South Kensington Museum ('the Brompton Boilers') under construction with the houses of Cromwell Road and Thurloe Square visible in the background (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Albumen print |
| Brief description | Mounted albumen print, Lance Corpl. B.L. Spackman, exterior view, roof of South Kensington Museum (the 'Brompton Boilers) under construction, Cromwell Road and Thurloe Square houses visible in the background, 1856 |
| Physical description | A mounted albumen print of the roof of a building under construction. Four men are climbing among the roof framework. In the foreground, a single man holds the crank of a gantry. In the background is visible a man with a tophat and houses in the distance. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | Gallery 100 ' A History of Photography' 2014-2015, text label :
Lance Corporal Benjamin L. Spackman
(1834–unknown)
Exterior View of the Roof of the South Kensington Museum under Construction
7 April 1856
The new ‘iron house’ of the South Kensington Museum was designed by Prince Albert. Measuring 81 metres long and nine metres high, it was large enough to house three two-storey galleries. The striking symmetry of this image draws the viewer to the central figure. In the background, labourers appear to be tight-rope walking against a backdrop of Thurloe Square.
Albumen print
Museum no. 34:966(06 03 2014) |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | Photographs and photographers were present from the very beginning of the V&A's history and the Museum has an extensive collection of images from the 1850s through to the present which documents the construction and development of the V&A and the South Kensington site. Originally collected by the National Art Library as part of a programme to record works of art, architecture and design in the interest of public education, these topographic and architectural views were valued as records and as source material for students of architecture and design. As well as being crucial records of the history of the V&A, and an important element within the National Art Library's visual encyclopaedia, these photographs are also significant artefacts in the history of the art of photography. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 34966 |
About this object record
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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