An illustration is a work of art that is created to explain or decorate a text. Images are created using techniques such as drawing, painting and photography. Common uses of illustration include novels, children’s books, botanical illustration and fashion design.
Beatrix Potter: The Art of Illustration
Beatrix Potter was inspired by artists such as Edward Lear, associated with other illustrators keen on the close observation of nature such as Cicely Mary Barker, and has i…
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Illustrations for Dickens' Novels
Some of the outstanding illustrators and artists of the day were recruited to provide images for Dickens's novels, often producing illustrations at short notice for forthco…
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Sheet Music Covers
The earliest music sheets to be illustrated by lithography were produced in this country in about 1820 and were coloured by hand. After colour lithography took off in the l…
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Mrs Loudon & the Victorian Garden
Jane Loudon was to Victorian gardening what Mrs Beeton was to cookery. Her beautifully illustrated books on gardening and plant identification sold in their thousands and w…
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Three Watercolours from the Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo
Three watercolours from the ‘Paper Museum’ of Cassiano dal Pozzo.
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Botanical Illustration Study Guide
Recommended resources for studying botanical illustration.
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A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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Hollywood Sketchbook: A Century of Costume Illustration (Hardback)
Hollywood Sketchbook is the first volume published on costume design illustration for the movies. This groundbreaking book celebrates one hundred year…
Buy nowEvent - A Woman's Touch: Women Artists and Designers 1600-2000
Tue 14 January 2014 11:00
4 WEEK SHORT COURSE: Women have been making art since Antiquity, but their contribution to the principal movements of art and design is still comparatively little known. This course examines the social and historical forces that have shaped womens’ experiences and work.
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