Visit to London - part 2

My daughter absolutely loves The Science Museum, so it was a must-do on our London city itinerary and we wanted to get there before the school rush. I loved this fascinating optical sculpture

 and the accompanying photo by Berenice Abbott which inspired it's re-creation.

My daughter's hoodie had a galaxy pattern, so we attempted to envisage the infinite!

After an early lunch, we headed to the Victoria and Albert Museum. So much to see there! The Chihuly chandelier at the entrance signifies the start of the afternoon of exploration.

I didn't remember seeing this huge Burne-Jones painting on previous visits, so perhaps I had never been in this stairwell before? The V&A is a large museum, it is easy enough to get (happily) lost!

I was excited to see an advert about a Winnie-ther-Pooh exhibition, then disappointed when the dates didn't coincide with my trip to London. So when I came across the hallway of original illustrations, including several by EH Shepard I was quite delighted.

I thought I recognised the work of Edmund Dulac, one of my favourite golden age illustrators but I was wrong. This 1911 watercolour of King Mark and La Belle Isoud from Malory's Morte D'Arthur is by William  Russell Flint.

There was a Dulac nearby, however. It is difficult to take pictures of these illustrations, because they are behind glass, but the image is from Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen. The snow queen's carriage is brightening the left of the picture.

I was curious about this illustration by John Everett Millais. I have recently seen the film Effie Gray, who romantically became his wife after an unconsummated first marriage to John Ruskin.

There was a whole section of the museum devoted to performance and theatre which was delightful, and again, a section I had not explored on previous visits. This circus poster is (most obviously!) the inspiration for The Beatles' song Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.

There is so much to see at the V&A that repeated visits are a must. Exit through the gift shop is always interesting...A plethora of ceramic buttons caught my attention.