For generations of English children, Kensington Gardens represent the setting of the book Peter Pan by James Matthew Barrie. For others, they are the locus amoenus chosen by William III and Mary II for their London home or where Queen Victoria was born in Kensington Palace itself. Giving these gardens in the heart of London their current luxurious look was Caroline, wife of George II, who, in 1728, designed them to include the Serpentine and Long Water (two sections of the same lake) from the waters of the Westbourne River. For the better part of the XVIII Century, these green lungs were closed to the public, gradually being opened only to those who were dressed respectably enough. In 1860, on the North side of the park, near Lancaster Gate, Queen Victoria commissioned the Italian Gardens. With the central rosette sculpted in Carrara marble and Portland stone, it presents a collection of stone statues of animals and a woman’s head. It is said that the garden was a gift from Prince Albert to his beloved Victoria. The grounds are reminiscent of the garden of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, where the Royal Family spent its holidays. Prince Albert, passionate about gardening, wanted that residence to have an Italian garden with raised terraces, fountains and geometrically shaped flower beds. In 1860, this idea was transplanted in Kensington Gardens.
Lee Miller was one of the most sought-after models of the late 1920s. She quickly moved behind the lens, becoming a leading figure in the avant-garde scenes of New York, Paris, London and Cairo. An exhibition at Tate Britain celebrates her extraordinary career.
An exhibition celebrates Edwin Austin Abbey, a 19th-century American artist, showcasing his study for the monumental work The Hours created for the Pennsylvania State Capitol.
An exhibition to tell the story of Pictorialism: the first international movement of artistic photography, which developed throughout the world from 1880 to 1960.
Over 300 objects from the Royal Collection, including works by the most renowned contemporary artists of the period, including Carl Fabergé, Frederic Leighton, Edward Burne-Jones, Laurits Tuxen, John Singer Sargent and William Morris, tell the story of the Edwardian era.
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