Art in the Age of Queen Victoria: Treasures from the Royal Academy of Arts Permanent Collection

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Collection!
Review: This book is the exhibition catalog of the exhibit by the same name that is traveling around the US, but if you can't make it to the exhibition, this is the next best thing! With 4 essays giving background on Victorian art and history, a chronology of major art events during Queen Victoria's reign, mini-biographies of all the artists, and the 76 works of art from the collection (plus a few extra thrown in!)all beautifully reproduced, this is definitely a collection worth owning. The works are all from the Royal Academy of Art collection and were donated as each artists' best work in order to be granted full academy status and it shows. Many familiar artists are represented such as Alma-Tadema, J.W. Waterhouse, and Millais, but there are a few unfamiliar names, also. If you've never sampled this period's art, this makes for a great beginning. If you don't already own a book on Victorian art, this is a great book to own. And if you do own a collection of Victorian art, it wouldn't hurt to have this on the shelves also.