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Manchester Art Gallery

Art galleries ·Manchester ·Closed
4.613.8K
#1Art galleries in Manchester#7Art galleries in the UKTravelers' Choice 2026
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About

Manchester Art Gallery is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre, with European art, especially English works from the Baroque period to the present.

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Manchester Art Gallery — Gallery exterior seen from the street, with its long stone side wall

Manchester Art Gallery — Gallery exterior seen from the street, with its long stone side wallManchester Art Gallery — Columned gallery entrance viewed past the garden and railingsManchester Art Gallery — Gallery facade beside the street, with a passing yellow busManchester Art Gallery — Paintings fill a turquoise gallery, including a large Pre-Raphaelite workManchester Art Gallery — Ceramics displayed beneath paintings in a green-walled galleryManchester Art Gallery — Quiet exhibition room with paintings, a bench, and a visitorManchester Art Gallery — Decorated gallery interior with paintings and an open doorwayManchester Art Gallery — Exhibition space beneath an ornate ceiling, with cases and visitorsManchester Art Gallery — Glass-roofed gallery passage beside the older stone buildingManchester Art Gallery — Ornate gold ceiling and skylight inside the gallery

Why go

  • Pre-Raphaelite paintings by William Holman Hunt, Ford Madox Brown and John Everett Millais.
  • Lowry’s 1954 Piccadilly Gardens alongside Valette’s paintings of foggy Manchester streets and canals.
  • Charles Barry’s Greek Ionic main building and Renaissance-palace-style Athenaeum; Barry also designed the Houses of Parliament.
  • An Egyptian canopic jar dating to about 1100 BC, the collection’s oldest object.

Opening hours

Today10:00 – 17:00, 10:00 – 17:00Show all
MondayClosed
Tuesday10:00 – 17:00, 10:00 – 17:00
Wednesday10:00 – 17:00, 10:00 – 17:00
Thursday10:00 – 17:00, 10:00 – 17:00
Friday10:00 – 17:00, 10:00 – 17:00
Saturday10:00 – 17:00, 10:00 – 17:00
Sunday10:00 – 17:00, 10:00 – 17:00

Good to know

BreakfastLunchBrunchFree WifiHighchairs AvailableServes AlcoholWheelchair AccessibleWine and Beer

Don't miss

  • Hylas and the NymphsJohn William Waterhouse’s painting was removed for a week in 2018 to invite debate about displaying women’s bodies. Visitors shared views on Post-it notes.
  • The PicnicA 1908 painting by Manchester-born artist Wynford Dewhurst.
  • Doves and Mother and ChildSculptures by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, made between the two world wars.
  • Portrait of Miss Cornelia KnightA portrait by Angelika Kauffmann in the collection.

What's inside

  • The collection occupies three connected buildings and includes more than 2,000 oil paintings, 3,000 watercolours and drawings, and sculpture.
  • The collection includes objects from antiquity, Asian crafts and Africa.

Tips for your visit

  • Open Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00–17:00.

Interesting facts3

1/3

  1. The collection includes four works by Victorian architect and designer William Burges.

    Manchester Art Gallery - Wikipedia
  2. 16 paintings

    Annie Swynnerton is represented by 16 paintings and Susan Dacre by 17.

    Manchester Art Gallery - Wikipedia

  3. The main building is Grade I listed; the Athenaeum, fronting Princess Street, is Grade II* listed.

    Manchester Art Gallery - Wikipedia

Shorts

History

The first collection purchase was James Northcote’s portrait A Moor, depicting actor Ira Aldridge. The city’s 1882 handover required £2,000 a year to be spent on art for 20 years. The principal wing was designed by Sir Charles Barry, who also designed the Houses of Parliament. The gallery’s fashion and textile collection is displayed at Platt Hall, south of the city.

  1. 1823Local merchants founded the Royal Manchester Institution to promote culture. It held exhibitions and began building an art collection.
  2. 1824Sir Charles Barry was commissioned to design the institution’s Mosley Street building.
  3. 1835The Neoclassical building opened.
  4. 1882The institution’s premises and collection passed to Manchester Corporation, and the gallery was called City Art Gallery of Manchester.
  5. 1913Three suffrage protesters broke glass over 13 paintings; four were damaged.
Show all
  1. 1938Manchester Corporation acquired the adjacent Athenaeum building to expand gallery space.
  2. 1953Artworks from the Manchester Art Museum came to the gallery after that museum closed.
  3. 1998The gallery closed for refurbishment.
  4. 2002A building designed by Michael Hopkins linked the two 19th-century buildings as the gallery reopened after refurbishment and extension.

Sources: Manchester Art Gallery - Wikipedia · Manchester/Victoria-Shopping District - Wikivoy… · Manchester Art Gallery - Wikipedia · Manchester Art Gallery - Wikipedia · checked 6 Oct 2026

Where
Mosley Street, Manchester Greater Manchester England

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Questions and answers

Where is Manchester Art Gallery’s fashion and textile collection?

The gallery’s fashion and textile collection is exhibited separately at Platt Hall, a country house south of the city.

Who can I contact about admission or visiting Manchester Art Gallery with children?

Contact the gallery on +44 161 235 8888.

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