Art galleries we love

Art galleries are places of wonder. They can take you back in time or transport you to the future. They can be a place of solitude or something you can enjoy with friends.  

Life:Full Colour founder, Sara McKee, has put together a list of the art galleries she loves in the UK and abroad, and the reasons why.

Manchester/Liverpool

• Manchester Art Gallery – home of a world famous Pre-Raphaelite collection and an enviable collection of Dutch painting from 17^th Century.  There is also a tea-room with great coffee and tasty food at affordable prices.

Website:manchesterartgallery.org

• Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester – While the gallery has a permanent collection, it doesn’t keep any artwork on permanent display – so it’s constantly refreshed. It links with many international art institutions and universities and its works include sculpture, textiles, wallpaper as well as fine art paintings. It’s a particular favourite as I used to go weekly as a school girl to practice my drawing – it’s a mile walk from my old school and sits in a beautiful city park.

Website: www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk

• Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight – Lady Lever is probably best known for its famous painting by William Holman Hunt of the Scapegoat and its extensive collection of both Pre-Raphaelite paintings and Wedgwood Jasperware. It has a particular place in my heart as its where I spent my University vacations (between here and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool) supporting the curators and even taking tours of visitors – I’ve been waving my arms about for years! Founded by William Hesketh Lever (1851-1925), it is dedicated to the memory of his wife Elizabeth (Lever manufactured “Sunlight Soap” and his business is now part of the global corporation, Unilever)

Website: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever/

• Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool – a very impressive gallery in the centre of Liverpool. Houses famous Tudor work, specifically Hans Holbein portrait of Henry VIII plus modern artists from Bridget Riley to David Hockney.  My go to piece is ‘Christ Discovered in the Temple’ by Simone Martini – a Renaissance masterpiece.

Website: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/

London

• The National Gallery – a fantastic place to sit and contemplate in between meetings in Westminster – my favourite spot is with Titian. The exhibitions visited most recently in the Sainsbury’s wing – Lorenzo Lotto and Cezanne Portraiture.

Website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk

• Tate Modern – a great place to be challenged in your perspective and to learn about artists you’ve never previously heard about. Dorothea Tanning was one such artist who has been overshadowed until recent times by husband Max Ernst. Seeing her Surrealist work inspired me to read more about her and her circle, and to explore women artists of the 19^th/20^th Century further.

Website:www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern

• British Museum – Classics and monumental exhibitions particularly ancient history. I’m looking forward to the Museum’s first ever exhibition on Troy, which is on from 21 November.

Website:www.britishmuseum.org

Amsterdam

• Van Gogh Museum – I visited this Amsterdam museum recently and witnessed David Hockney juxtaposed amongst Van Gogh landscapes. You can spend hours moving amongst Van Gogh works – very hard not to touch as the paint is so thick and viscous. Keep going back for more. Read our review here.

Website: www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en

• MOCO (Modern Contemporary) Museum – I stumbled across this converted Victorian property, just a short walk from the Rijksmuseum. It contains a startling selection of modern art – which is not generally my thing, but I was intrigued to see a collection of Banksy street and other artwork brought together with their strong political messages.

Website: mocomuseum.com

• Rijksmuseum – Probably one of the largest museums in the world – you cannot see this in one sitting. The “All The Rembrandts” exhibition took us over 2-hours and we still didn’t really see everything in detail. Read our review here.

Website: www.rijksmuseum.nl/en

• Stedelijk Museum – very modern and contemporary art. A place we visit to learn more about 20^th century art. The architecture of the gallery is worth a visit in its own right. All the above galleries are within the same area of Museumplein, so you’ll not miss anything.

Website: www.stedelijk.nl/en

Florence

• Uffizi – the gallery is designed by our old friend Giorgio Vasar and provides so much imagery from throughout the ages. The Uffizi houses pieces by the magnificent Titian, El Greco, Dutch masters and everything from the early Italian Renaissance onwards including my favourites – Giotto, Simone Martini, Mantegna, Bellini and Botticelli (and of course Leonardo, Raphael & Michelangelo). You can’t eat it all in one go and definitely need the rooftop terrace for a restorative Aperol Spritz at the halfway point.

Website: www.uffizi.it/en/the-uffizi

• Accademia Gallery Museum – Michelangelo’s statue of David – unsurpassed.

Website:www.accademia.org

• Brancacci Chapel – a chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. I go back regularly to indulge in my eternal love of fresco.

Website: www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Brancacci_chapel.html

Paris

• Musée d’Orsay – the most extensive collection of Impressionist and monumental French painting outside of the USA, housed in a former railway station. The setting is incredibly impressive as is the original clock hanging over the main hall. It’s home to regular special exhibitions, such as the Picasso “Bleu et Rose” which we visited and reviewed. Lots of stairs but worth the effort.

Website:www.musee-orsay.fr/en/

• Dali Paris – a discovery for us in Montmartre with a fascinating collection of Dali’s painting, sculpture and furniture. Trying to find out what inspired and motivated this renown surrealist – still trying!

Website: www.daliparis.com

New York

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art – every time I visit New York I have another go at this monumental gallery. I’ve seen John Singer Sargent, Diaghilev’s ballet costumes and most recently Dutch paintings in the Lehmann Collection. As well as a panoply of art across the centuries. The good news is your ticket lasts three-days so you don’t need to attempt everything in one sitting.

Website: www.metmuseum.org

• The Frick Collection – around the corner from the Met, The Frick is home to many of the paintings I studied at university that took me thirty years to see. Magnificent collection of Italian Renaissance and European painting including my personal French painting favourites by Ingres and Jacques-Louis David. Another fabulous building in its own right with lovely spaces to sit and contemplate.

Website:www.frick.org