Museums of London

    Like Churches, Museums are something else that London has a lot of. Our hotel was conveniently located within a few blocks of the famous British Museum.  The British Museum, founded in 1753 is the oldest museum in the world.  It has a vast collection of artifacts from varies eras including Egyptian mummies. The British Museum is located in Bloomsbury, right up the road from Bloomsbury Square which is home to the famous novelist Virginia Woolf . She was a member of the Bloomsbury Group, who held meetings in the early 1900's.  With the British Museum so close by, she had a wealth of knowledge right at her finger tips. However, being in a city such as London, so full of culture, could not prevent her having the tragic life she did.  Her mother dies when she is only 13, then her sister dies only 3 months later.  Virginia is devastated and tries to kill herself. She has a series of mental/emotional problems throughout her life which ends with her suicide.  She did however, have the pleasure of meeting Freud, of whom I am an ardent admirer.

Freud also has a museum in London. The museum is the house that Freud spent his last year in from September of 1938 until his death in Sept of 1939.  His daughter, Anna Freud remained living in the house until her death in 1982 at which time it was turned into a museum at her request.  The house features a video of Freud's life, a small gift shop with lots of books, and of course a room by room walkthrough of the decorations that surrounded Freud in his life.  Being a Psychology student I really enjoyed the museum as it showed me the man in his natural setting. My favorite room was the study, which had great decor.  I liked the rich colors and of course the famous psychoanalysis couch.

Another Museum I had the pleasure of visiting was the National Portrait Gallery.  True to its name, the National Portrait Gallery, was a big Art Gallery full of famous portraits.  At the time I was there, there was a special exhibition of children's book authors like Beatrix Potter, and A.A. Milne(who wrote Winnie the Pooh).  Also there, were pictures of the royal family, and British royalty throughout the ages. Included with famous people were famous musicians, actors, businessmen and of course writers.  There was a picture of Virginia Woolf, and one of her sister.  Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Joyce, Dickens and Shakespeare were all among the famous people with representations in the Gallery.  The Gallery was interesting in the fact that all the portraits were different and created in a variety of different methods.

Among other famous museums in London are the Tate Museum of Modern Art, the Design Musuem, the Tower of London and Shakespeare's Globe.  The Eyewitness Travel Guide to London is a great source for information on all London's premiere museums.