Here comes the overly commercialized, pressure-laden annual frippery we all love to hate. There are many reasons to dread the annual, bright-pink festival of sap so let's commiserate!
Into The Wild Blue Yonder
A short history of flight, with images from the archive.
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Images with Impact
Inspired image selections for seasonal trends in fashion, textiles, paper products and packaging.
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Engineering The Future
Leonardo Da Vinci's sketches for contraptions that were centuries before their time.
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If you are a woman...
Reason #1: You can't moan about it. If you are single, then people assume you are a spinster with two cats. If you are in a relationship, people assume you've hit a rough patch.
223786 Phone Call (oil on canvas) by Robert Burkall Marsh (Contemporary Artist) Private Collection and 114582 The First Cloud, c.1887 (oil on canvas) by Sir William Quiller Orchardson (1832-1910)
Reason #2: Cringeworthy poetry.
327315 The Old Valentine, 1941 (oil on canvas) by Hananiah Harari (1912-2000) and 166266 The Love Letter (oil on canvas) by Francois Martin-Kavel (1861-1931)
Reason #3: You feel undue pressure to lose weight, especially if there's a chance he'll buy you lingerie.
86867 The Small Corset, 1920 (litho) by Herouard (20th century) Stapleton Collection, UK and 170986 Advertisement for 'Kino' underwear, c.1950 (colour litho) by French School (20th century) Private Collection/ Archives Charmet
Reason #4: All displays of perfect coupledom serve only to reinforce the sneaking suspicion that everyone else is far more in love and having twice as much fun as you.
17327 The Cruel Sister, 1851 (oil on canvas) by John Faed (1820-1902), Bury Art Gallery and Museum, Lancashire, UK and 4540 Lovers, from the 'Science of Erotics', 'the Kama-Sutra', Himachal Pradesh, Pahari School
If you are a man...
Reason #5: You feel undue pressure to be the perfect prince charming, which includes having to recite the aforementioned cringeworthy poetry.
290565 Couple with roses, c. 1930 (colour litho) by French School (20th century), Private Collection/ Archives Charmet and 13619 La Belle Dame Sans Merci, exh.1902 (oil on canvas) by Sir Frank Dicksee (1853-1928)
Reason #6: Fear that women have a singular focus this time of year, and that she is already making plans for your future life together in complete wedded bliss.
75874 First Love, 1916 by Konstantin Andreevic Somov (1869-1939) and 188375 A Gipsying Party Returning Home Through a Storm, published by Thomas McLean, London, 1827 (coloured etching) by Theodore Lane (1800-28) Private Collection/ The Stapleton Collectio
Reason #7: Shell out tons of money to buy cliche tokens of affection that never quite hit the mark.
168922 Corset, 1990 (pencil and w/c on paper) by Alan Byrne (Contemporary Artist) and 112617 Chocolates (enamel on panel) by Philip Le Bas (b.1925) (Contemporary Artist)
Reason #8: Lest you forget about this all-important holiday, you're history.
81405 A Wife Beating her Husband (oil on panel) by Bartholomeus Molenaer (1612-50) Private Collection/ Rafael Valls Gallery, London, UK and 86893 The Dance of the Seven Veils, an illustration from 'Sex Through the Ages', 1920's (litho) by Leonec (20th cen
