Welcome to Objects in Focus at the VG&M
This Blog will focus on individual objects from our extensive fine and decorative art collections and the museum heritage collections. You will be regulary treated to an in-depth look into both familiar and unfamiliar artworks and objects, discovering some of the secrets and stories behind them.
You might recognise some objects from display, but others from departmental teaching collections will be seen publicly for the first time.
Adrian Scott Stokes – Traveller Towards Light
Posted on: 22 April 2021 | Category: 2021
The sharp sunlight of spring brings a fresh clarity to nature and one painting in our collection demonstrates this beautifully: ‘Early Spring in the Austrian Tyrol’ by Adrian Scott Stokes. Let’s discover more about this much-travelled landscape artist from Merseyside.
Manifesto: The second-best Grand National horse ever!
Posted on: 9 April 2021 | Category: 2021
The 2.5 mile Manifesto Novices’ Chase at Aintree is named in his honour, but it’s likely you don’t know anything else about him. He’s probably the ‘Buzz Aldrin’ of the racehorse world – everyone only remembers the first man on the moon and they only remember the horse with the very best record at the Grand National. But - Manifesto deserves to be remembered as being in the same league as Red Rum.
Mitzi Cunliffe - Behind the Mask
Posted on: 25 March 2021 | Category: 2021
Every year some of the most famous faces on the planet are photographed hugging a stylised golden mask. It is a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) trophy. Let’s go behind the mask to discover its brilliant designer, Mitzi Cunliffe, who also created the spikiest artwork in our collection …
Having cake, but not eating it
Posted on: 10 March 2021 | Category: 2021
Tucked inside an ornate sewing box, carefully wrapped in tissue, is one of the oddest and most enigmatic items in our collection. It is a royal relic and the legacy of someone who had their cake, but didn’t eat it.
Sophie's Sheroes
Posted on: 19 February 2021 | Category: 2021
February is LGBT history month and this year the VG&M asked me if I’d look back on my own little history project from 2017.
Stranger Loves: a Brief History of LGBTQ+ Science Fiction
Posted on: 11 February 2021 | Category: 2021
To celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month we have invited Dr Phoenix Alexander, the University’s Science Fiction Collections Librarian, to outline the history of LGBTQ+ themes in the genre. The University of Liverpool Library's Special Collections and Archives houses the largest catalogued collection of science fiction in Europe, encompassing over 35,000 books and 2, 500 periodicals, as well as the archives of some of the major science fiction writers of the twentieth century. Join us on a tour through the LGBTQIA+ history of science fiction, showcasing just a handful of items from the stacks.
John James Audubon (1785-1851)
Posted on: 29 January 2021 | Category: 2021
The 27th January 2021 will mark the 170th anniversary of the death of the American naturalist and artist John James Audubon, the author/creator of what is now one of the most valuable printed books in the world. Only 120 complete copies are known to have survived, but one of them is on display at Liverpool Central Library. Here at the Victoria Gallery & Museum we are fortunate to be the custodians of the largest group of original artworks by Audubon outside North America. So how did these rare artworks end up in the collection of the University of Liverpool?
Story of the Willow Pattern
Posted on: 15 January 2021 | Category: 2021
Blue and white ‘Willow Pattern’ tableware is considered traditionally British, seen on plates, dishes and tea services on dressers and sideboards across the land. The pattern is clearly inspired by China, and its story certainly starts there, but we need to go back a long, long way to find out why.
Away with the Fairies
Posted on: 18 December 2020 | Category: 2020
Outside, Winter’s long, dark nights are bringing frost-tipped chills, so far nicer to stay inside and curl up with a book about mystical enchantments, magical creatures and monstrous beasts. And who better to illustrate our story but Arthur Rackham? Here is the bewitching tale of one of our visitors’ favourite paintings: Twilight Dreams.
Packing in a Pandemic - Moving the museum store
Posted on: 11 December 2020 | Category: 2020
This time last year, it was with mixed emotion that the curator of the Heritage Collections and I received the news that we would be getting a new Heritage Store. Hooray! - we thought - much improved storage at last, oh but hang on… the thought of moving more than 14,000 objects from our current store to our shiny new store was daunting indeed - and that’s putting it mildly.
Blog
Adrian Scott Stokes – Traveller Towards Light
Posted on: 22 April 2021 | Category: 2021
The sharp sunlight of spring brings a fresh clarity to nature and one painting in our collection demonstrates this beautifully: ‘Early Spring in the Austrian Tyrol’ by Adrian Scott Stokes. Let’s discover more about this much-travelled landscape artist from Merseyside.
Disclaimer
We try to ensure that the information provided on our blog is accurate and that appropriate permissions to use images have been sought.
The opinions in each blog are very much those of the individuals writing.