Historic Galleries
We are best known for our Victorian paintings, especially the world famous Pre-Raphaelites. But our historic galleries also display masterpieces of art and design from the 17th and 18th centuries.
17th century - Life and Death in the 17th century
Paintings of daily life in Holland, Italy and Britain in the 1600s. From everyday pursuits at work and in the home, to religious paintings and depictions of mortality.
18th century - Portraiture, landscape and the Grand Tour
Introducing the paintings of Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and their contemporaries. An age of aristocratic patronage, European travel and the discovery of ancient Greece.
Early 19th century - Romanticism and the Industrial Revolution
A period which produced some of our best-loved artists – Turner, Constable and William Blake. The spread of the Industrial Revolution and its influence on artists and the growing art market.
Pre-Raphaelites - Our pre-eminent collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings
Sumptuous colours, lavish patterns and tales of seduction, religion and mid-Victorian morals. Paintings by Ford Madox Brown, Holman Hunt and Millais, craft and design by William Burges and William de Morgan.
Victorian - History to capture the popular imagination
The wealth and opulence of the High Victorian era and Manchester’s heyday. Storytelling, history painting and the hard realities of daily life contrast with depictions of beauty, from rural British landscape to the exotic Far East.
Salvaged!
See the restoration of a masterpiece taking place right before your eyes as William Etty’s Ulysses and the Sirens is prepared for display.
Using the Gallery
Get the most out of your visit with our floor plans, audio guides and information in other languages.
Collections events
Use the events calendar to find out about talks, tours and workshops that explore our permanent galleries.
Search the collections
Want to know more about specific works on display? Search our online collections database.
