The Prince of Wales Presiding at a Meeting, held at South Kensington Museum, of the Commissioners for the Paris Exhibition, from "Illustrated London News"
Anonymous, British, 19th century British
Sitter Albert Edward, Prince of Wales British
Not on view
This print relates to the elaborate British planning process established to select works sent to the International Paris Exposition of 1867 (held April 1 to October 31). The meeting shown here was held at the South Kensington Museum in early January 1867 and attended by leading committee members, to finalize details and plan shipping. The Prince of Wales chaired the gathering in a large gallery hung with the Raphael Cartoons, and the secretary was Sir Henry Cole—who had masterminded London's Great Exhibition of 1851. The Victoria and Albert Museum had been founded in the wake of the 1851 success and subsequent international fairs followed its model.