The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group.

History

The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 when the Liverpool Royal Institution acquired 37 paintings from the collection of

William Roscoe William Roscoe (8 March 175330 June 1831) was an English banker, lawyer, and briefly a Member of Parliament. He is best known as one of England's first abolitionists, and as the author of the poem for children '' The Butterfly's Ball, and th ...

, who had to sell his collection following the failure of his banking business, though it was saved from being broken up by his friends and associates. In 1843, the Royal Institution's collection was displayed in a purpose-built gallery next to the Institution's main premises. In 1850 negotiations by an association of citizens to take over the Institution's collection, for display in a proposed art gallery, library and museum, came to nothing. The collection grew over the following decades: in 1851 Liverpool Town Council bought Liverpool Academy's diploma collection and further works were acquired from the Liverpool Society for the Fine Arts, founded in 1858. The competition between the academy and society eventually led to both collapsing. William Brown Library and Museum opened in 1860, named after a Liverpool merchant whose generosity enabled the Town Council to act upon an 1852 Act of Parliament which allowed the establishment of a public library, museum and art gallery, and in 1871 the council organised the first Liverpool Autumn Exhibition, held at the new library and museum. The success of the exhibition enabled the Library, Museum and Arts Committee to purchase works for the council's permanent collection, buying around 150 works between 1871 and 1910. Works acquired included WF Yeames' '' And when did you last see your father?'' and

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...

's '' Dante's Dream''. Designed by local architects Cornelius Sherlock and H. H. Vale, the Walker Art Gallery was opened on 6 September 1877 by Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby. It is named after its founding benefactor, Sir Andrew Barclay Walker (1824–1893), a former mayor of Liverpool and wealthy

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

born in

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

who expanded the family business to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and moved to live in Gateacre. In 1893, the Liverpool Royal Institution placed its collection on long-term loan to the gallery and in 1948 presented William Roscoe's collection and other works. This occurred during post-war reconstruction when the gallery was closed, re-opening in 1951. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the gallery was taken over by the Ministry of Food and the collection was dispersed for safety. Extensions to the gallery were opened in 1884 and 1933 (following a two-year closure) when the gallery re-opened with an exhibition including

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

. In 2002 the gallery re-opened following a major refurbishment. In 1986, the gallery achieved national status, as part of the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside. The gallery is housed in a neo-Classical building located on William Brown Street. The neighbouring area includes the William Brown Library, World Museum Liverpool, St. George's Hall, Wellington's Column, Lime Street Station and the entrance to the Queensway Tunnel. The other major art gallery in Liverpool is Tate Liverpool, at the Albert Dock, which houses modern art. File:Walker Art Gallery 1259.JPG, Late Renaissance Gallery File:Walker Art Gallery 1288.JPG, Pre-Raphaelite Gallery File:Walker Art Gallery 1295.jpg, Sculpture Gallery File:Modern & Contemporary gallery at the Walker Gallery, Liverpool.png, Modern & Contemporary gallery

Permanent collection

The Walker's collection includes Italian and Netherlandish paintings from 1300 to 1550, European art from 1550 to 1900, including works by Giambattista Pittoni,

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, Poussin and

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French people, French Impressionism, Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, Print ...

, 18th and 19th-century British art, including a major collection of Victorian painting and many

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, ...

works, a wide collection of prints, drawings and watercolours, 20th-century works by artists such as Lucian Freud,

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...

and

Gilbert and George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942) are artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their formal appearance ...

and a major sculpture collection. The select collection of minor or decorative arts covers a wide range, from Gothic ivories to British ceramics up to the present day. The Gallery also houses the only original Stuart Sutcliffe painting on permanent display in Liverpool. On 17 December 2011, the Walker Art Gallery got a new addition to its collection – a statue of a priest vandalised by Banksy. The renowned graffiti artist has sawn off the face of an 18th-century replica stone bust and glued on a selection of bathroom tiles. The resulting 'pixellated' portrait is entitled ''Cardinal Sin'' and is believed to be a comment on the abuse scandal in the Church and its subsequent cover-up. This piece of art is displayed in Room three, which is one of the 17th-century Old Master galleries. As of 2 July 2013, the ''La Masseuse'' sculpture by Edgar Degas, previously owned by Lucian Freud, found a permanent home at the Walker Art Gallery, thanks to the donation-in-payment system put in place by the Arts Council England.

Gallery

Exhibitions

The first John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize exhibition was held in 1957. Sponsored by Sir John Moores, founder of Littlewoods, the competition has been held every two years ever since and is the biggest painting prize in the UK. There is a regular programme of temporary exhibitions which in 2009-10 has included Aubrey Williams, Bridget Riley, Sickert and Freud. In 2004, the gallery staged ''

The Stuckists Punk Victorian ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'' was the first national gallery exhibition of Stuckist art.Moss, Richard"Stuckist's Punk Victorian gatecrashes Walker's Biennial Culture24, 17 September 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2009. It was held at the Walker A ...

'', the first national museum exhibition of the Stuckist art movement. The Gallery also takes part in the

Liverpool Biennial Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom. Since its launch in 1998, Liverpool Biennial has commissioned over 380 new artworks and presented work by over 530 artists from around the world. ...

References

External links