Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case X, Shelf 601, Box A

Model of the proposed South Kensington Museum buildings, completed according to the plans of Henry Scott, view from the south-west of the Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road facades

Photograph
1869 (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.

Isabel Cowper was the sister of the South Kensington Museum's first official photographer, Charles Thurston Thompson (1816-1868) and of the Superintendent of the Museum, Richard A. Thompson. Little is known about Cowper, but in her letter of resignation in 1891, she refers to herself as the Museum's 'Official Photographer', having taken up the position after the death of her brother. As such, she is an important part of the early history of V&A and a seminal figure behind the Museum’s early uptake of photography to document the arts.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleModel of the proposed South Kensington Museum buildings, completed according to the plans of Henry Scott, view from the south-west of the Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road facades (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print
Brief description
Photograph by Isabel Cowper, model of the proposed South Kensington Museum buildings, completed according to the plans of Henry Scott, view from the south-west of the Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road facades, albumen print, 1869
Physical description
A mounted photograph of a model of a building.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 9.1cm
  • Image width: 36.3cm
  • Mount height: 26.9cm
  • Mount width: 39.6cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'A.b. LONDON 1870 / Victoria & Albert Museum (department classification label, lower right mount)
  • library stamp (blind stamp, upper centre mount)
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Association
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.

Isabel Cowper was the sister of the South Kensington Museum's first official photographer, Charles Thurston Thompson (1816-1868) and of the Superintendent of the Museum, Richard A. Thompson. Little is known about Cowper, but in her letter of resignation in 1891, she refers to herself as the Museum's 'Official Photographer', having taken up the position after the death of her brother. As such, she is an important part of the early history of V&A and a seminal figure behind the Museum’s early uptake of photography to document the arts.
Associated object
68:710 (Version)
Collection
Accession number
68705

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest