Museums should open up their storerooms
The V&A is putting more of its collection on show. Others should follow suit
IN MUSEUMS’ STOREROOMS, disparate bits of history are brought together. Jesus, rendered in marble, peeks out of a wooden crate; nearby, Napoleon is proud in bronze, but bound by a safety harness. Famous faces are stored alongside forgotten ones. Dante and Nero rub shoulders with a 16th-century Venetian man.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Out in the open”
From the May 31st 2025 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
What Superman tells you about American foreign policy
Should a man who can do anything choose to do nothing?
Handling feelings with rubber gloves: the odd life of Muriel Spark
An abandoned son, scorned lovers and dazzling, manipulative prose
Why the left gains nothing from pop stars’ support
Artists are entitled to share their views. Doing so is not always noble or wise
What to watch this weekend
Stories of tennis players, chefs and rock stars
Stop crying your heart out—for Oasis have returned to the stage
They are much more popular today than their Britpop peers
Inside the uneasy, incongruous coalition of the Big Three
A new book traces the wartime relationship between Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Josef Stalin