Detective Sherlock Holmes: A fictional character with no equal.

The master detective Sherlock Holmes remains as famous today as he was when he first appeared more than 125 years ago, during the late reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901).

A new exhibition entitled Sherlock Holmes: The Man Who Never Lived and Will Never Die is currently on display at the Museum of London.

The exhibition will help the public see how Sherlock Holmes has transcended the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle's novels and come to be regarded as a real-life character. Furthermore, the exhibition will highlight Sherlock Holmes's relationship with London, the city that served as the setting for many of his famous adventures.

A drawing by artist Sidney Paget from the story The Adventure of Silver Blaze, is on display in the new exhibition.

His fame overshadowed even his "creator."

At the center of the exhibition is a large oil painting hanging on the wall, depicting Arthur Conan Doyle, the "father" of the detective character Sherlock Holmes. Rarely displayed to the public, this painting was created by artist Sidney Paget in 1897, when Doyle was not yet 40 years old. A decade earlier, he had created the world's most famous detective. However, in 1897, Sherlock Holmes's fame had overshadowed even his creator.

The exhibition also depicts how the residents of 221B Baker Street in London – the fictional upscale neighborhood in the Sherlock Holmes stories – became real-life legends. It also highlights Holmes' influence on real life through various stage, television, and film adaptations, including the BBC series Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Alex Werner, the exhibition curator, pointed to the Belstaff coat that the museum borrowed from the artists who created the character of Sherlock Holmes and said: “Benedict Cumberbatch wore this coat when he was in the film. For the new generation, the coat is just as iconic as Sherlock Holmes’ hunting hat and pipe. In fact, it was American actor William Gillette who made the pipe a trademark of Sherlock Holmes when he embodied the character in the first stage adaptations. Meanwhile, it was the artist Sidney Paget who made Sherlock Holmes’ hunting hat famous, not Doyle’s depictions.”

A portrait of the writer Doyle, as depicted by the artist Paget.

Leaving a lasting impression in real life.

This is the largest exhibition celebrating Sherlock Holmes in decades. “We have tried to showcase artifacts related to the making of Sherlock Holmes, such as the first writings in which Doyle mentions a character named Sherrinford Holmes. This aims to provide a clearer cultural approach to the Sherlock Holmes phenomenon,” curator Werner stated.

An interesting detail is that the exhibition also shows videos introducing artists who have portrayed Sherlock Holmes on screen over the years. Among them are British actor Basil Rathbone, who played Holmes in the 1940s; Douglas Wilmer in the BBC production from the 1960s; and Jeremy Brett in the Holmes television series aired in the 1980s.

For subsequent generations, the detective Sherlock Holmes has become so prominent in real life that they often mistake him for a real-life character rather than a fictional one. “Since his first appearance, the character of Sherlock Holmes has been constantly reinvented. The BBC's Sherlock series is the clearest example in recent times. No fictional character can compete with Sherlock Holmes,” Werner said.

He also stated that when Holmes appeared, the publishing industry took off, targeting an increasingly literate audience. Therefore, the characters of Holmes and Dr. Watson quickly became ingrained in readers' minds. Later, Sherlock Holmes' adventures became a fascinating subject for pioneering filmmakers.

"Changes in technology and science have contributed greatly to the creation of the Sherlock Holmes legend. He has always been a modern detective and he easily adapts to later eras," Werner said.

According to TT&VH