The Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight has one of the United Kingdom’s best collections of decorative art and it is also particularly well-known for its collection of British art from the 19th century.
The gallery was founded by William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme as part of Port Sunlight, a model community built to house workers in the Lever Brothers soap company, which is now part of Unilever. The community, which is now a suburb of Liverpool, was named after the company’s popular Sunlight soap product.
The gallery was initially founded as a place to display art from Lord Leverhulme’s personal collection and much of what is on display reflects both his personal taste and also the type of art that was popular in Britain during the 19th century.
What to see at the Lady Lever Art Gallery
Most of the art on display inside this Beaux-Arts style building dates from the 18th to the 20th century with a major collection of British 19th-century painting and sculpture.
The collection of British art is particularly impressive for a suburban art gallery and it includes works by Turner, Constable, Gainsborough and Reynolds. The gallery has a particularly notable collection of paintings from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood including work by John Everett Millais, Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown, William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. William Etty is well represented and the collection of his paintings is considered to be one of the largest on public display in an art museum.
The gallery also features exhibits of decorative arts with English furniture and ceramics, including both Chinese ceramics and Wedgwood jasperware. The Wedgwood collection is considered to be one of the world’s best with many pieces coming originally from the private collection of Charles Darwin, Josiah Wedgwood’s grandson.
Temporary exhibitions at the Lady Lever Art Gallery
In addition to its impressive permanent collection, the gallery also hosts a programme of temporary exhibitions.
Bedazzled
Explore evening wear from the 1920s to the 1980s in this exhibition (until 26 January 2025), which examines the enduring appeal of beaded and sequinned dresses. The collection showcases the evolution of style and craftsmanship, with garments reflecting post-First World War opulence, and later pieces highlighting cultural shifts and advances in textile production. The exhibition features 14 dresses from the 1920s and 1930s, alongside eight garments from the 1980s to today.
Visiting the Lady Lever Art Gallery
Because of its suburban location, not so many tourists visit Lady Lever Art Gallery but it is easy to get to and worth the journey to Port Sunlight.
The closest railway station is Bebington and it only takes 14 minutes to get here from Liverpool Central. Trains run every 15 minutes.
![The Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight on the Wirral peninsula in Liverpool’s suburbs. The gallery is home to an outstanding collection of decorative art and it has an excellent collection of British art from the 19th century. (Photo: Rept0n1x [CC BY-SA 3.0])](https://englandrover.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/lady-lever-art-gallery.jpg)
The gallery is wheelchair accessible and there are also facilities for deaf and vision-impaired visitors.
Other facilities include a gift shop and cafe. The cafe serves tea, coffee and light meals including local specialities such as scouse. Free Wi-Fi wireless internet access is available in the cafe.
While you’re in Port Sunlight, take the time to wander around the community, which features 900 Grade II-listed buildings. The Port Sunlight Museum is located across the road from the gallery and it is worth a look if you have an interest in planned communities.
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