The Manchester Art Museum, also known as the Horsfall Museum or Ancoats Museum, was an art museum in Manchester, England, from 1877 until 1953. It was begun as an educational venture in 1877 by Thomas Coglan Horsfall, who had been inspired by John Ruskin to provide education and inspiration to the working classes. The museum moved in 1886 to Ancoats Hall.
The collection included a wide range of items including paintings, engravings, photographs, reproductions, antiquities, ceramics, glass, metalwork, natural history specimens, and images of Manchester.
In keeping with Horsfall's moral views, no nudes were displayed at the gallery.
[Wilson, Shelagh, "The Highest Art for the lowest People: The Whitechapel and Other Philanthropic Art Galleries, 1877-1901", ''Governing Cultures'', Ashgate, 2000, pp.172-86.] A room in the gallery was furnished by William Morris as an example of aesthetic design.
According to historian Shelagh Wilson, the gallery was popular as a respectable alternative attraction to pubs and music halls, but by the early 20th century it was unable to compete with new forms of popular entertainment. When a cinema opened nearby, attendance dropped dramatically.
In 1918 the museum was taken over by the city. It closed in 1953 and its contents were absorbed into the collection of Manchester City Art Gallery.
[Manchester City Galleries – History of the Collection](_blank)
/ref>[Harrison, M. (1993). Art and Social Regeneration: The Ancoats Art Museum. ''Manchester Regional History Review'', 4, 63-72.
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References
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Art museums established in 1877
1877 establishments in England
1953 disestablishments in England
Art museums and galleries in Manchester
Defunct museums in England
Manchester Art Gallery