Explore the impact of telegraphy on the artistic imagination and wider social consciousness in the 19th century.

150 years ago, communication was revolutionised. The successful laying of cable along the floor of the Atlantic ocean meant that exchanges that would have taken weeks by ship, were possible within a single day.

This ground-breaking technology captivated Victorian society and how it conceived of itself in time and space. Artists responded in visual terms to the newly connected world, the hostile landscape, changed perceptions of distance, and the idea of sending/receiving messages, coding and decoding.

‘Victorians Decoded: Art and Telegraphy’ looks at the impact of telegraphy on the artistic imagination and wider social consciousness and features Victorian paintings, scientific apparatus and the personal notes and papers of telegraph pioneer Sir Charles Wheatstone.

The project is a collaboration between the Courtauld Institute of Art, King’s College London and the Guildhall Art Gallery, to explore the connections between art and science in the nineteenth century. Learn more about the wider programme of research and activity commemorating this event by visiting the Scrambled Messages website.