London's Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) confirmed that it is to open a new permanent Photographs Gallery on 25 October, which aims to chronicle the history of photography.

The gallery will extend the space currently dedicated to photographic images at the attraction, with the first display of works to include artists such as Irving Penn and Alfred Stieglitz. A wide number of images will be on show in the Photographs Gallery, including the V&A's oldest piece in its collection - an 1838 daguerreotype of Parliament Street.

Formerly a study space, the free gallery will also incorporate two In Focus sections to feature a photographer represented "in depth" in the V&A's current collection. The V&A's design department is leading the transformation of the space as part of the wider FuturePlan, which will lead to the creation of new galleries and redisplayed collections.