V&A ocean travel exhibition to run until June 17

A major exhibition focusing on the golden age of ocean travel is running at the V&A Museum in London until June 17.

Ocean Liners: Speed & Style brings together artwork and artefacts that capture a sense of the luxury and glamour of these ships.

Normandie chair children

This chair stood in the first class children's playroom on the SS Normandie 

A dazzling Cartier tiara, originally belonging to Lady Marguerite Allan and recovered from the 1915 wreck of the Lusitania, is among the highlights.

There’s also an extraordinary selection of pieces from the SS Normandie (launched 1935), which featured a jaw-dropping art deco interior.

Sadly much of the original work was lost in the early 1940s, when it was repurposed as a troop carrier, although a few select pieces and photographs have survived.

The show will feature a spectacular chair from the ship’s first class children's playroom.  

Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, said: “I’m delighted that this dazzling exhibition, the first of its kind to explore the international design and cultural impact of the ocean liner, will be the V&A’s first major exhibition of 2018.

“This seminal show will reveal hidden design stories of some of the world’s most luxurious liners, from the Titanic to the Normandie and QE2.

“We have collected ship-related objects and ephemera for well over 100 years, and now have a startlingly brilliant collection of ocean liner material, making us uniquely placed to present this exhibition.

“I’d like to thank our sponsors, Viking Cruises, for their generous support in helping us stage this ambitious show.”

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