Henry Cole Building

Captain Fowke, Godfrey Sykes, and others

1856-84

The Victorian and Albert Museum

Cromwell Road, London

Photograph and text by George P. Landow

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL.]

In this photograph, we stand with our backs to the main part of the museum (and Cromwell Road) in the recently renamed Pirelli Courtyard, an inner quadrangle with renaissance-revival façade and a pair of bronze doors that originally served as the main entrance to the museum. The doors contain eight panels representing the fine and applied arts, which were executed by James Gamble and Rueben Townroe after designs by Godfrey Sykes. "On the balconies are roundels containing putti; further up, the pediment typanum and figure panels on the flanking attic stories are by Townroe" (Read, 227). According to a history of museums site, "three horizontal divisions represent the Ages of Man. On the pediment is Queen Victoria distributing Laurel crowns in front of the Crystal Palace."

In July 2001, when this photograph was taken, the Pirelli Courtyard provided the setting for an exhibition of the American glass-artist Dale Chihouli, and his yellow and red sculpture almost entirely obscures the doorway.

References

Jones, Edward, and Christopher Woodward. A Guide to the Architecture of London. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1992.

Read, Benedict. Victorian Sculpture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.

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Last modified 17 June 2007