The London museum having a whale of a time

Introducing Rakewell, Apollo’s wandering eye on the art world. Look out for regular posts taking a rakish perspective on art and museum stories.

The Natural History Museum in London has installed the skeleton of a blue whale in its central hall, replacing the much-loved plaster cast of Dippy the Diplodocus that had stood in the space for more than a century.

Judging by the reaction to the new installation, the dramatically posed whale skeleton – which dives through the vast Victorian hall – is likely to prove as popular as its prehistoric predecessor.

Although the whale has been called Hope by the museum, there has been some mischievous speculation on Twitter about other possible names for her:

Other institutions have jumped on the whale waggon to welcome Hope’s installation:

And in The Times, the cartoonist Peter Brookes found cause for wailing:

But what of Dippy? He will head out on a tour of museums across the UK at the start of next year. And Birmingham Museums, for one, are already getting animated about his visit:

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