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 Thomas Coglan Horsfall (1841–1932) was a noted philanthropist, town planner, writer and founder of the Manchester Art Museum in Ancoats Hall (also known as the ''Horsfall Museum'' or ''Ancoats Museum''). Life Horsfall was the son of William ...

, who had been inspired by John Ruskin to provide education and inspiration to the working classes. The museum moved in 1886 to

Ancoats Hall Ancoats Hall in Ancoats, Manchester, England, was a post-medieval country house built in 1609 by Oswald Mosley, a member of the family who were Lords of the Manor of Manchester. The old timber-framed hall, built in the early 17th century, was d ...

. 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 Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...

.Manchester City Galleries – History of the Collection
/ref>Harrison, M. (1993). Art and Social Regeneration: The Ancoats Art Museum. ''Manchester Regional History Review'', 4, 63-72.

References

{{authority control 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