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 Liv ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...

, 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 Liverpool porcelain is mostly of the Soft-paste porcelain, soft-paste porcelain type and was produced between about 1754 and 1804 in various factories in Liverpool. Tin-glazed English delftware had been produced in Liverpool from at least 1710 at ...

, and the UK's largest public collection of Della Robbia pottery. 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 The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12t ...

, 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 par ...

. 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 Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to ...

. 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. * 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