In Focus Tour: The Spirit of Gaiety

Discover an extremely rare example of a wooden architectural sculpture preserved within a museum collection. The Spirit of Gaiety was made in 1904 by Hibbert C. Binney for the dome of the second Gaiety Theatre which stood at the junction of Aldwich and the Strand. After the theatre was destroyed in 1957 the angel was salvaged and she is now part of the V&A’s theatre and performance collection. Due to the size and weight of these figures, and to the deterioration they tend to suffer through exposure to the elements and to pollution, they are seldom preserved intact when the buildings they surmount are demolished. Zoe Allen, from our Conservation team, will talk about the conservation work carried out to the angel to prepare it for display.