IDC Publishers - Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema Collection

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema Collection

Order		Background		Specifications

Guide
Printed guide giving the exact location of each item on the

Content note
Organized into the following series:
Collection of Photographs;
Drawings;
Tracings;
Prints;
Collection of Letters.

Biographical note
Lawrence Alma-Tadema was born in Friesland, the Netherlands in 1836. He trained in Antwerp with Baron Henri Ley (1815-1869) and Louis de Taeye (1822-1890). During his honeymoon in 1863, Alma-Tadema visited Italy and was very impressed by the archaeological remains he saw in Florence, Rome, Naples and Pompeii. He bagan to acquire a reputation, particularly in England, as a painter of historical subjects. He moved to London in 1870, becoming a member of the Royal Academy in 1876. He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1899 and was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. Alma-Tadema used many elements of Roman art and architecture in his paintings, and in order to achieve historical accuracy, he made use of photographs. He bought hundreds of photographs during his many journeys, of which many, but by no means all, are of Italian subjects.

Provenance
The original 164 portfolios and 6 albums, containing around 5300 photographs, together with some original drawings, tracings, and prints, were donated in 1915 to the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 1947 they were transferred to the University of Birmingham Library.