Manchester Art gallery - one of city?s largest art galleries was formerly known as City Art Gallery. The building was established in the year 1882 when the Royal Manchester Institution's building and its collection were handed to the city.
The Gallery houses an extensive collection of paintings, sculptures and ceramics. Famous works include paintings by Turner, Stubbs and Gainsborough. The Gallery also includes the famed collections of the Victorian and Pre- Raphaelite paintings, which are spread over the old and new buildings.The first nine galleries in the old building consist of 18th and 19th century art, organized in themes to set them off in the best light.
Highlights of this section include George Stubbs' Cheetah and Stag and Two Indians, Holman Hunt's The Hireling Shepherd, Autumn Leaves by Sir John Millais and Work by Ford Madox Brown. All the 20th century permanent collection is housed in galleries on the first floor of the new building.
Manchester Art Gallery allows youngsters and amateur painters to display their work and offers interactive sessions for kids. The new building of the gallery contains a collection of British art with works from Stanley Spencer, Lucien Freud, Francis Bacon, David Hockney and Bridget Riley. You can find works by LS Lowry and Adolphe Valette too. The gallery also conducts special exhibitions to promote art and literature. The gallery collection includes over 2,000 oil paintings, 3,000 watercolors, 250 sculptures and over 10,000 prints.
Visitors can avail of a floor plan to help them around the Manchester art gallery or use the audio-guided tour in different languages. Thematic works such as furniture, textiles, armor, ceramics and glass are displayed. Visitors to the Manchester art gallery can learn more about British crafts from a visual database.
