History

Sir Charles Barry designed the oldest building of the gallery which opened in 1824. Initially known as the Manchester City Art Gallery, it houses both national art and international works of various European painters. Today the Gallery is spread across in three buildings, the most recent of which was built between 1998 and 2002 under the guidance of Sir Michael Hopkins. The other building of the Gallery is the Athenaeum building, also designed by Sir Charles Barry, was built in 1826 and has a very distinctive Italianate style of architecture.

Features

Within the walls of the Manchester Art Gallery, visitors will find works of art that are graded as being of national importance. The Gallery has a vast collection, with works dating back to 600 years ago, but the most famous paintings date from the 19^th century and belong to various British artists. 10 paintings by Thomas Gainsborough are on display in the English School exhibition. Britain’s first and famous radical art movement, The Pre-Raphaelites, has exponents in the Gallery. With topics representative of their times, the paintings meticulously illustrate issues of morality, religion, and emigration.

The Victorian Dramas, as one of the exhibitions, is called, bring in front of the visitor the essence of what the Victorian era was about. The wealth and opulence characteristic of this style is present in recreations by Alexander von Wagner, Frank Dicksee, Charles-August Mengin, or Dante Gabriel Rosetti. 

The Manchester Art Gallery has a special display of glass, metalworks, and furniture. The ability to work with a wide range of materials and the artistic desire to experiment with various types of displays make this part of the Gallery an extraordinary experience. The Gallery of Craft & Design also houses two more sections. One is called memory and explores the different types of memories and stories that people associate with objects. The other is called Collecting and is meant as an homage to those who contributed to Manchester Art Gallery's collection.

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