Museum Exhibit

The British are Coming: ‘Victorian Radicals’ Visit Nevada Museum of Art

Touring the United States from Birmingham, United Kingdom, “Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts & Crafts Movement” will be on view at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, March 7 – May 30, 2021. This stop represents the last chance to see the exhibition on the West Coast.

This spring, Nevadans will have the rare opportunity to engage with works from a dynamic period of British art. Drawn from the collection of the city of Birmingham, United Kingdom, Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts & Crafts Movement showcases works by three generations of young and rebellious artists and designers whose response to the increasingly industrial world around them revolutionized the arts in Britain. The exhibition brings together more than 145 paintings, works on paper, and decorative arts — many never-before-shown outside the UK. Victorian Radicals will be on view at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, March 7 — May 30, 2021. The Museum is the second and final West Coast venue to host this exhibition of unparalleled historical and visual richness.

Through the works of pioneering artists including Ford Madox Brown, Kate Elizabeth Bunce, Edward BurneJones, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, William Morris, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, among others. Victorian Radicals represents the spectrum of avant-garde practices of the Victorian period, emphasizing Rossetti_Proserpine the response of Britain’s first modern art movements to unfettered industrialization. These artists’ attention to detail, use of vibrant colors, and engagement with both literary themes and contemporary life are illustrated through a selection of paintings, drawings, and watercolors presented alongside superb examples of decorative art.

Victorian Radicals underlines the ideas that preoccupied artists and critics at the time—the relationship between art and nature; questions of class and gender identity; the value of the handmade versus machine production; and the search for beauty in an age of industry. These issues remain relevant and actively debated today.

“This is Birmingham Museums Trust’s largest ever touring exhibition,” said Toby Watley, Director of Collections at Birmingham Museums Trust. “It brings the story of the city’s pioneering artistic figures to America, for the first time in this depth: from the progressive work of the Pre-Raphaelites to the inspiring designs of the Arts and Crafts movement. This is an exciting opportunity for Birmingham, helping to raise the profile of both the city and its collection internationally.”

Several public programs hosted on Zoom are planned in connection Victorian Radicals. All online talks for this exhibition are FREE for Museum members. Pricing for the general public is $10. (Art page 32)