Following a £50,000 investment at Salford Museum and Art Gallery the newly refurbished Victorian Gallery will officially open this week.
It has taken 12 months, 4 artisan painters, 480 hours of work and curation to bring the gallery to this auspicious moment in its 163-year existence.
The Victorian Gallery is home to one of the finest collections of Victorian paintings and decorative arts in the northwest and arguably in England.
Much of the Salford collection reflects the vital role played by the city in politics, industry and commerce, during the early and middle years of the Industrial Revolution. Paintings from the Palace of Westminster and others celebrating the Victorian age are exhibited alongside Gothic Revival furniture created by Parliament’s interior designer Augustus Pugin.
Opened by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1851 the Museum and Art Gallery houses the biggest art collection in the North West with over 100 paintings.
Works on display include those by G.F.Watts, E.M.Ward and G. Clausen some of which have been restored and on show for the first time in 20 years.
The Salford Museum and Art Gallery venue is free to visitors and also includes a full Victorian Street, Lark Hill Place, with homes and shops re-built and re-created from original artefacts.
The Victorian Gallery will be officially “opened” by Harold Riley at a special event on the evening of Wednesday February 12.
Salford Museum and Art Gallery is just one of forty facilities run by Salford Community Leisure. SCL also runs community centres, a sailing and watersports centre, libraries and fitness centres.
Location
Peel Park, Crescent, Salford, Greater Manchester M5 4W
Contact
0161 778 0800