PAINTINGS FROM THE REIGN OF VICTORIA THE ROYAL HOLLOWAY COLLECTION, LONDON

MAY 27 TO SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

In summer 2010, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is inviting the public to step back into the Victorian era, an age of splendour and change. To admire scenes of urban and rural life, landscapes, portraits, animal studies and more. The exhibition Paintings from the Reign of Victoria. The Royal Holloway Collection, London showcases 60 acclaimed canvases that drew eager crowds in the British capital in the 1880s.

In the late 19th century, entrepreneur and art patron Thomas Holloway financed the building of a college for middleclass women on the outskirts of London: the Royal Holloway College. And between 1881 and 1883 – just four years! – he assembled a large group of paintings to be hung in the institution. These purchases cost him the equivalent of $85 million in today’s dollars.

Queen Victoria and contemporary critics had high praise for the works, lauding them as spectacular in both scale and pictorial quality. The Holloway Collection is characterized by a surprising diversity that reflects the philanthropist’s determination to show the finest British art of his day. Although decidedly conservative, this art is unswerving in its focus on Beauty.

This exhibition is organized and circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia. The national tour has been supported by The Chisholm Foundation, and the catalogue sponsor is Hiscox.

THE MUSÉE IS FUNDED BY THE MINISTÈRE DE LA CULTURE, DES COMMUNICATIONS ET DE LA CONDITION FÉMININE DU QUÉBEC