Victoria & Albert

The Victorian era is unquestionably one of the high points in the history of British art—and the culture of that period was defined, as much as anything, by the artistic tastes of Queen Victoria and her beloved Prince Albert. From Victoria’s accession in 1837 to Albert’s death in 1861, Buckingham Palace was known as “the headquarters of taste,” and in a time when royal patronage was still essential to a successful artistic career, the pair enthusiastically collected paintings, sculpture, jewelry, and furniture from a wide range of British and European artists.

Victoria & Albert presents the highlights of that extensive collection through more than four hundred beautifully produced full-color illustrations. In addition to the many artworks, both familiar and little-known, that Victoria and Albert collected, the book also features the monarchs’ own creations, from paintings, drawings, and etchings to the loving souvenir albums they assembled to record their travels and commemorate the major events of their lives.

Opening a window onto the lives of two people as passionate about art as they were about each other, Victoria & Albert will be a comprehensive resource for scholars of British art and the royal family.