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Victorian & Edwardian posts

George Frederic Watts, a Victorian International Artist

In 1884 the life’s work of one of England’s greatest painters sailed across the Atlantic to America for an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This fascinating story of international art lending is just one of many to be found in the correspondence of George Frederic Watts.…

By Ruth Benny, Archive Cataloguer

12 December 2013

How might a Victorian gentleman go about asking for a better salary? One approach was by writing an extremely tactful letter.

Today there are over 200 members of staff at the Gallery but Sir George Scharf its first Director, was something of a one man band. Appointed in 1857, his role was all encompassing. He fulfilled the roles of Visitor Services Assistant, Building Officer, Curator, Accountant, Librarian, Cataloguer and Researcher. Scharf also travelled extensively, sketching potential acquisitions and creating hundreds of sketchbooks filled with images of portraits, collections, people and places.…

By Bryony Millan, Senior Archive & Library Manager

23 January 2013