Beneath the Surface, Somerset House

V&A | Photo London 2015
The beloved Victoria and Albert Museum is opening up its guarded collection at Photo London, Somerset House with a rare display of previously unseen works to mark the first major international photography fair. With Photo London 2015 boasting so many contemporary photographers, this exhibition of works dating back to 1852, offers a more traditional, vintage edge to the proceedings. The 200 images on display in the oldest part of Somerset House in the Embankment Galleries, capture plunging river water, the city, bustling Londoners and the iconic museum itself. Arranged by the Senior Curator of Photographs for the V&A, Martin Barnes, this is photography at its best. 
Highlights
Startling nineteenth-century masters to look out for include William Strudwick, Victor Prout and Charles Thurston Thompson. Then into the twentieth-century the collection spotlights famous figures like the Hungarian photographer of Paris, Brassai. For those with a more contemporary taste, Susan Derges, Nigel Shafran and Naoya Hatakeyama are worth a look, as well as graphic designer Robert Brownjohn and installation artists Ackroyd & Harvey.  
Aspiring photographic collectors will love this trailblazing new international photography fair, but while you're there - don't miss the quietly splendid V&A display nearby.