Ex-Pat Wows London

As Keeper of Furniture, Textiles, and Fashion for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Christopher Wilk ’76, had a busy winter. On Nov. 22, 2001, the museum opened the new British Galleries to the public. The Wall Street Journal reported that "the new rooms at the V&A have so much space that they are equivalent of an entirely new museum, both in size and scope." And Wilk was in charge of all the content of the galleries! "What’s in them, the stories they tell, and the design," he confirmed.

Although only discovering art history in his junior year at Vassar, Wilk went on to earn a master’s in art history from Columbia University. After stints at MoMA and the Brooklyn Museum, he joined the Victoria & Albert Museum in charge of modern furniture in 1988. For the past five years, he has worked full time as the chief curator of the British Galleries project. Wilk is pleased to report that the public’s response has been "overwhelming positive." "For the first time in the museum’s history, the full range of the collections are on view, and they have contributed to a four-fold increase in visitors," he said.