A century after the death of Queen Victoria, this landmark exhibition provides a timely and thought provoking assessment of the legacy of her reign.
The Victorian era saw the British monarchy elevated to unprecedented heights: at home, as the revered patrons of art and design, and abroad, as the civilising - if somewhat remote - figureheads of empire. From the foundations of this new and inspirational monarchy, Britain developed alternative ways of seeing both itself and the world. In all facets of life - the arts, sciences, work and education, technology and trade, home and play - the Victorian imagination provided the foundations upon which the modern world was built.
Theatrical and varied in its scope, the exhibition embodies the creativity, spectacle and sense of adventure which powered the Victorian age. From painting and sculpture through to ethnography and engineering, this is a vision of the Victorians as they saw themselves - as the inventors of the modern world.
