The Walker Gallery is an art museum located on William Brown Street in Liverpool city centre.
The Walker Gallery is an art museum located on William Brown Street, just a short walk from Lime Street Station.
The Grade II* listed building houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London, and is part of the National Museums Liverpool group.
The Grade II* listed description of the building by Historic England can be seen at the following link: (
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"The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 when the Liverpool Royal Institution acquired 37 paintings from the collection of William Roscoe, who had to sell his collection following the failure of his banking business, though it was saved from being broken up by his friends and associates.
In 1843, the Royal Institution’s collection was displayed in a purpose-built gallery next to the Institution’s main premises.
The Walker Gallery was designed by local architects Cornelius Sherlock and H. H. Vale, and was opened on 6th September 1877 by Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby.
The Gallery is named after its founding benefactor, Sir Andrew Barclay Walker (1824–1893), a former mayor of Liverpool and wealthy brewer born in Ayrshire who expanded the family business to England and moved to live in Gateacre.
In 1893, the Liverpool Royal Institution placed its collection on long-term loan to the gallery and in 1948 presented William Roscoe's collection and other works. This occurred during post-war reconstruction when the gallery was closed, re-opening in 1951. During the Second World War the gallery was taken over by the Ministry of Food and the collection was dispersed for safety.
Extensions to the gallery were opened in 1884 and 1933 (following a two-year closure) when the gallery re-opened with an exhibition including Picasso and Gauguin. In 2002 the gallery re-opened following a major refurbishment.
In 1986, the gallery achieved national status, as part of the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside." SOURCE: (
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The following report by Laura Davies appeared in the Liverpool Echo on 10th February 2019;
'The extraordinary story of why there's a Mona Lisa in Liverpool'"It involves an art heist, a case of mistaken identity and a Liverpool businessman
A photograph of The Walker Art Gallery's Mona Lisa (
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Can you tell the difference between the Mona Lisa in the photograph above and the original hanging in the Paris Louvre?
Neither could the Liverpool art expert who bought it in the early-20th century and presented it to the Walker Art Gallery in 1915.
There was a good reason for him believing it was the real deal - Leonardo da Vinci's original painting had been stolen from the wall of the Louvre in 1911 by three Italian handymen who hid overnight in a cupboard to commit the heist. It was missing for just over two years.
So when Liverpool artist and businessman Harold Rathbone found what is now believed to be a very good 17th century copy he snapped it up and gave it to the Walker.
Before its theft, the Mona Lisa wasn't particularly famous outside the art world - not until the heist was reported in newspapers across the globe.
It was recovered after one of the thieves tried to sell it to an art dealer in Florence.
There is one significant difference between the two paintings - Liverpool's version shows more of the chair that its subject, thought to be Italian noblewoman Lisa Gherardini, is sitting on.
You can see it for yourself, on display at the William Brown Street gallery's Room Two, which focusses on Late Renaissance Italy.
Also currently on show is a stunning exhibition of da Vinci's drawings .
And there are many other Italian Renaissance works in the gallery's permanent collection thanks to the generosity of another Liverpool businessman, William Roscoe MP, who bequeathed works by da Vinci's artistic friends and rivals." (
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The Walker Art Gallery holds a large collection of paintings, sculpture and decorative arts spanning over six hundred years.
It displays works of art by artists such as, Rubens, Rembrandt, Poussin and Gainsborough.
There are also Tudor portraits and a large collection of Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite works including Dante’s Dream by Rossetti, hanging alongside other artists such as Millais, Turner, Monet and Holman Hunt.
The Gallery also has a collection of 20th century modern and contemporary art that includes pieces by Lucien Freud, Bridget Riley and Henry Moore.
The Gallery exhibits the current and past winners of the John Moores Painting Prize, the oldest painting competition in the UK. It includes work by David Hockney, Peter Doig, Martin Green and 2012 winner, Sarah Pickstone.
The Decorative Arts gallery contains over 500 pieces of ceramics, glass, pottery, fashion and furniture from the ancient world to the 20th century.
The Big Art for Little Artists, is a specially designed gallery created for children under 8 years old.
The Gallery has a café with free Wifi and a gift shop stocking prints, jewellery, cards, books and other souvenirs. Source: (
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