Why This Web-site? 

In the last fifteen years I have become increasingly interested in Victorian Art. I was initially attracted to the Pre-Raphaelites. Over the years this has developed into a broader interest in art of the period, including classical & aesthetic artists & pictures. The influences which made these artists what they were, have long gone, and cannot be reproduced today. By looking at their paintings we see the dreams, aspirations, & longings, of painters of the 19^th century. Some of these aspirations & dreams are easily parodied today. But the desire to inform, to create something beautiful, & to raise the human spirit is still impressive, especially when compared with so much that is trivial, without merit, & downright squalid today. 

About This Web-Site.

VAB has now been on the internet for almost four years. In that time it has developed into a major online source of information about Victorian art, and with its concentration on contemporary comment, provides information which was previously unavailable. I have carried out hundreds of hours research to enable me to provide this information for fellow-enthusiasts throughout the world, and doing this has been a voyage of discovery as well as a chore. My respect for these artists continues to grow, as respect for many modern artists, and their foolish protagonists continues to decline.

One of the intentions of this site is to give information about collections of art Victorian art in public galleries. I continue to add to galleries reviewed. By Victorian art, I mean art from the second half of the 19^th century, produced, by British based artists. It is the intention to continue to add biographies of artists to the site.

In the case of many well-known artists, relatively little is known about them. Because of this I it is my intention to continue to research the site, and to add CONTEMPORARY COMMENT, about the artists involved. I have already attached to a number of biographies, their obituaries, mainly published in The Times newspaper. This will also include transcripts of speeches, and interviews, and reports from magazines and newspapers. 

The copy on this site is all by me. I know it contains some mistakes, and I intend to continue to edit and improve it. I welcome feedback from site visitors. Tell me what you like, do not like, and artist or topic you would like to see included.

Guest Book & Forum

The time has now come to make improvements and changes to VAB, to encourage more contact between visitors, and to facilitate the exchange of information and views. In future the site will include a FORUM for this purpose. I very much hope it will be well-used. The Guest Book is also reintroduced.

How You Can Help To Maintain & Expand This Site 

To maintain and expand this site costs money. Visitors to VAB can help me by buying books from AMAZON, posters and reproductions from the sites to which we are linked, or making a donation on Pay Pal.

Books I recommend are all chosen for the quality of their text, and illustrations. The same applies to poster sites.  

ULTIMATELY WITHOUT THIS HELP VAB WILL DISAPPEAR 

About Me.

My name is Paul Ripley. I live in Droitwich, near the ancient City of Worcester in England. I was born in the North East of England, and spent many years working in manufacturing industry.  Great Britain is losing its industry to lower cost producers in the Far East, and to make this situation more difficult there is serious discrimination against older people all forms of business. The “Grey Power” phenomenon in the US is not yet in evidence here, with the predictable result that for older people-like me-life is very difficult.

Services Provided.

Should visitors to this web site wish to know more about individual artists of the 19^th century, I will research them, and provide a report about the artist, his (or her), life, and work. A charge will be made for doing this. Please contact me for details. I will also arrange tours of galleries for small parties of people. Please ask for details.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions for improvement please