Manchester Art Gallery
Manchester Art Gallery is the city's free public art gallery, housed in a Grade I listed building by Sir Charles Barry on Mosley Street. It is strongest in Victorian art, especially the Pre-Raphaelites, and makes an easy hour or two in the centre of Manchester.
Photos
Erandika Mohanathasan
Building and history
The gallery began as the Royal Manchester Institution, a learned society formed in 1823, for which Charles Barry designed the Greek Ionic building in the 1820s and 1830s. Barry also designed the neighbouring Athenaeum. The collection passed to the city in 1882, and a £35 million extension by Hopkins Architects, opened in 2002, linked the historic buildings with a new wing.
The collection
There are about 25,000 objects in the collection, including more than 2,000 oil paintings and over 13,000 decorative art pieces. The Victorian galleries, with their Pre-Raphaelite paintings, are the highlight for most visitors. Look out too for the work of Adolphe Valette, the French painter who taught L. S. Lowry, and for paintings by Lowry himself. Temporary exhibitions run alongside.
Fitting it in
Entry is free and the gallery is open six days a week, closed on Mondays. It sits between St Peter's Square and Chinatown, so you can pair a visit with lunch in Chinatown, or walk a couple of minutes to Albert Square and the Town Hall. With only an hour, head straight for the Victorian galleries, then see what temporary exhibition is on. The gallery is a short walk from St Peter's Square tram stop.
Highlights
- Free entry
- Grade I listed Charles Barry building
- Major Pre-Raphaelite collection
- Works by Valette and his pupil L. S. Lowry
Good to know
- Closed on Mondays.
- Temporary exhibitions run alongside the free permanent collection.
Frequently asked questions
Nearby
Sources: en.wikipedia.org