For centuries the Middle East attracted enterprising traders and adventurous travelers throughout the world to its distant lands. European artists - whether professional painters accompanying an expedition or amateur watercolorists on holiday - responded to these exotic surroundings and changing conditions, preserving the Middle Eastern legacy in works that today offer a glimpse into this now-lost world.

Voyages and Visions: Nineteenth-Century European Images of the Middle East from the Victoria and Albert Museum surveys the variety of artists' encounters with these distant lands and exotic cultures through the presentation of eighty-two watercolors and drawings selected from the extensive Seafight Collection in London. Complementing these exciting works oil paper are fascinating essays written by experts in Middle Eastern studies.

Their research elucidates the mutual exchange of ideas and influences between East and West, charts the course of European travel throughout the region, and examines the artists and their varied responses to the wonders they encountered.