Victoria Gallery and Museum

The Grade II*-listed building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, the prominent Victorian architect also responsible for Manchester Town Hall and the Natural History Museum in London.

What to see at the Victoria Gallery and Museum

The museum has an eclectic array of exhibits that encompass everything from art and archaeology to Victorian-era dentistry and the development of the x-ray.

The museum is set on three floors with most of the ground floor taken up by the gift shop and cafe, the art gallery and temporary exhibition space on the first floor and museum exhibits on the second floor.

The art gallery is noted for its excellent display of work by 19th-century American wildlife artist, John James Audubon and it is the largest collection of the artist’s work outside North America.

The Tate Hall Museum on the second floor has a very different feel to the exhibition spaces on the first floor. The museum exhibits include a large range of eclectic displays that feature dental and medical instruments, fossils and taxidermy.

Some of the exhibits on the second floor include:

• an exhibition about clay tobacco pipes and smoking paraphernalia
• an exhibition about Victorian-era dentistry including an internationally significant display of false teeth
• zoological specimens consisting of skeletons, taxidermy and wet specimens

Temporary exhibitions at the Victoria Gallery and Museum

In addition to its permanent exhibits, the museum also has a programme of temporary exhibitions. Current and planned exhibitions include:

Play of Light – A display of darkness and illumination
The play of light against darkness, a technique enhancing drama and mood, has been present in art since the Renaissance. The Play of Light exhibit (until 30 November 2024) highlights diverse applications of this method by British artists from the late Georgian to Victorian eras. Featured artists include JMW Turner, Joseph Wright of Derby, John Atkinson Grimshaw and David Roberts.

Lee Miller – Friends at Farleys
Lee Miller (1907–1977), a prominent 20th-century photographer, began her diverse career as a fashion model in 1920s New York. Transitioning to photography by the end of the decade, she became part of the Surrealist avant-garde in 1930s Paris and later served as an official correspondent for the US Army during the Second World War. This exhibition (until 30 November 2024) focuses on Miller’s charming and humorous photos from the 1950s, portraying the lively atmosphere of Farleys House in East Sussex, where she and her husband, Surrealist artist Roland Penrose, lived and entertained creative friends, including Pablo Picasso. The exhibit features tongue-in-cheek portraits from a 1953 British Vogue article titled Working Guests, showcasing Miller’s playful approach to capturing visitors engaged in household tasks.

These exhibitions are on the first floor and, like the rest of the museum, admission is free of charge.

Visiting the Victoria Gallery and Museum

The Victoria Gallery and Museum is on Brownlow Hill on the University of Liverpool campus. It is around a 10-minute walk east of the city centre and both Liverpool Central and Liverpool Lime Street railway stations are around a 15-minute walk away.

It is very close to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral (only a two-minute walk) and the Garstang Museum of Archaeology and the Williamson Tunnels are both within a 10-minute walk from the museum.

The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday and entry is free of charge. Free guided tours of the museum run every Tuesday and Thursday at 12.30pm.

The museum is fully wheelchair accessible.

The museum has its own gift shop and cafe. Considering that not a lot of people visit the museum and art gallery, the Waterhouse Cafe can get particularly busy.

Allow between one and two hours for a visit to the museum.