Gallery to reveal Victorian treasures

A new Victorian gallery in the Black Country, giving visitors the chance to delve into the past, will be unveiled in days, it has been revealed.

Bosses at Wolverhampton Art Gallery are preparing for the launch of its new-look Victorian Gallery, which has been transformed thanks to a slice of £250,000 lottery cash.

The cash, which has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund, was also used to fund two new Victorian-themed rooms at the gallery's sister site Bantock House which are already open.

Dozens of historic artefacts, including decorative treasures and artwork from the Victorian era, are being put inside the new two-room gallery, in Lichfield Road, ready for the launch.

It will open to visitors on June 27 after two years in the pipeline, containing some items which have not been on show to the public for 20 years.

Wolverhampton's head of arts and museums, Corinne Miller, said: "Our collection of Victorian art is an important part of the city's history, and many of the pieces in the collection were donated during the Victorian period by local wealthy businessmen to the gallery when it opened in 1884."

Local industrialists Philip Horsman and Sidney Cartwright, the founders of Wolverhampton Art Gallery which opened in 1884, donated their personal collections of Victorian art to the city.

The collection includes works by acclaimed Victorian artists William Knight Keeling, John Edmund Niemann and Henry Mark Anthony.

A programme of events has been lined up as part of the launch event, from 11am to 3pm. Workshops will run throughout the day with a Victorian theme.

For more information visit www.wolverhamptonartorg.uk