The Williamson Art Gallery and Museum is an art gallery and museum situated in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

, England and houses Wirral's art collection.

History

The art gallery and museum opened on 1 December 1928, the single-storey building is Neo-Georgian in style, and was deliberately designed to blend in with the local surroundings. Financial support for its establishment was primarily provided by John Williamson, a Director of the Cunard Steamship Co. Ltd. and his son Patrick Williamson. Local support for the establishment of the museum also came from members and families of the nearby Birkenhead Art Club (founded 1908) who helped contributed artworks and funding to the building.

Collections and events

Its collection includes Victorian oil paintings, English watercolours, Liverpool porcelain, and the UK's largest public collection of

Della Robbia pottery The Della Robbia Pottery was a ceramic factory founded in 1894 in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, England. It closed in 1906. Initially it mostly made large pieces with high artistic aspirations, especially relief panels for architectural use, bu ...

. It also has a large collection of ship models, focusing on

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

shipbuilders, the Mersey Ferries, and the vessels that used the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

. This includes items from ships such as the bell of the

RMS Mauretania Two ocean liners of the Cunard Line have been named RMS ''Mauretania'', after the ancient territory of Mauretania: * , launched in 1906 and in service until 1934 * , launched in 1938 and scrapped in 1965 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mauretania, RMS Ship na ...

. The gallery also hosts regular exhibitions that can include work by nationally and internationally renowned artists. There are regular musical concerts and the gallery is also a venue for art and crafts workshops. Paintings in the gallery include: * The muslin dress by

Philip Wilson Steer Philip Wilson Steer (28 December 1860 – 18 March 1942) was a British painter of landscapes, seascapes plus portraits and figure studies. He was also an influential art teacher. His sea and landscape paintings made him a leading figure in ...

. * Seagulls by

Albert Joseph Moore Albert Joseph Moore (4 September 184125 September 1893) was an English painter, known for his depictions of languorous female figures set against the luxury and decadence of the classical world. Life Moore was born at York on 4 September 1841 ...

References

External links

Williamson Art Gallery and Museum
- official site Art museums established in 1928 Buildings and structures in Birkenhead Culture in Merseyside Art museums and galleries in Merseyside Museums in Merseyside 1928 establishments in England Art galleries established in 1928 {{Merseyside-struct-stub

History

Collections and events

See also

References

External links