V&A museum bans sketching in select temporary exhibitions

The ban has been enacted for exhibition Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear

(Getty)

With the V&A museum's new exhibition Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear came a photography ban, eliminating visitors' opportunity to catch the collection of 18th century lingerie on camera.

But the induction of the exhibition has now been slapped with a further ban – this time on sketching.

Olly Wainwright, architecture and design critic for The Guardian, this week tweeted a photo showing a sign, positioned at the exhibition's entrance, emblazoned with the words: "No photography or sketching".

While the former may, to many, seem a rational stipulation (you do visit a museum to see the assembled objects, after all), the latter has caused something of a furore.

It turns out the exhibition's popularity is to blame: a V&A spokesperson has since confirmed that sketching has been deemed unacceptable in a bid to prevent the museum's flow of visitors from becoming congested – something that was tried and tested for its hugely successful David Bowie exhibition back in 2013 and every high-profile one since.

It should be pointed out, however, that the act of sketching is permitted outside of the building's temporary exhibitions, an upcoming one of which will focus on 1960s psychedelic rebellion.

To avoid temptation, best leave your pencils at home.

Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear runs until 12 March 2017. Tickets cost £12.