Walker Art Gallery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This page is about the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. The Walker Art Center is in Minneapolis.
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| Established | 1877 |
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| Location | William Brown Street, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom |
| Website | www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker |
The Walker is the major art gallery of Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England, outside of London, causing some to refer to it as "the National Gallery of the North". Opened in 1877, it is named for its founding benefactor, Sir Andrew Barclay Walker (1824-1893), a former mayor of Liverpool and wealthy brewer born in Ayrshire who expanded the family business to England and moved to live in Gateacre.
The Walker Art Gallery is located on William Brown Street (the only street in the UK to consist of nothing other than Museums, Galleries and Libraries) in a neo-Classical building.
Today it houses a varied collection including many Italian and Netherlandish paintings from 1350–1550, European art from 1550–1900 including works by Rembrandt, Poussin and Degas, 18th and 19th century British art, including a major collection of Victorian painting and many Pre-Raphaelite works, a wide collection of prints, drawings and watercolours, 20th century works by artists such as Lucian Freud, David Hockney and Gilbert and George and one of the most important sculpture collections outside London.
The Gallery holds the John Moores painting exhibition every year, with a regular programme of fascinating temporary exhibitions which has recently included Rossetti, Holbein's Henry VIII and Heath Robinson. The other major art gallery in Liverpool is Tate Liverpool, at the Albert Dock, which houses modern art.
The neighbouring area includes the William Brown Library, Liverpool Museum, St. George's Hall, Wellington's Column, Lime Street Station and the entrance to the Queensway Tunnel.
