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Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
BMAG Logo Museum.png
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery from the Central Library.jpg
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Established 28 November 1885
Collection size c. 800,000 objects
Visitors 644,100 (2019)
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated: 25 April 1952
Reference #: 1210333

The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (often called BM&AG) is a famous museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It holds a huge collection of important items from all over the world. These include beautiful fine art, old ceramics, shiny metalwork, sparkling jewellery, and fascinating pieces about natural history. You can also see items from archaeology, different cultures (ethnography), and learn about local and industrial history.

This museum is managed by the Birmingham Museums Trust. This trust is the biggest independent group of museums in the UK. It also looks after eight other museums in the city. You can visit the main Museum and Art Gallery for free. However, some special exhibitions in the Gas Hall might have a small entry fee.

Discovering the Museum's Past

The idea for a public art gallery in Birmingham started a long time ago. In 1829, a group called the Birmingham Society of Artists opened a private art show. Later, in 1864, the first public art room opened. This happened when the Society and other people donated 64 paintings and a special statue called the Sultanganj Buddha to the city.

These artworks were first kept in the Free Library building. But there wasn't enough space, so they had to move to Aston Hall. A generous person named Joseph Nettlefold gave 25 paintings by David Cox. He had one condition: the gallery had to be open on Sundays!

Industrial Gallery BMAG UK
The Industrial Gallery, one of the first parts of the Art Gallery

In 1880, a local artist named Allen Edward Everitt became the honorary curator. This meant he helped look after the Free Art Gallery, which was the early version of today's Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Jesse Collings, who was the Mayor of Birmingham from 1878 to 1879, was a big supporter of free libraries and the new art gallery. A gift of £10,000 from Sir Richard and George Tangye helped kickstart the plan for a new art gallery.

In 1885, after more donations and £40,000 from the city council, the Prince of Wales officially opened the new gallery. This happened on Saturday, November 28, 1885. The museum and art gallery were built as an extension of the Council House. It was located above the city's Gas Department offices. This meant the Gas Department helped pay for the museum, which was a clever way to fund art at the time!

The building was designed by Yeoville Thomason. The beautiful metalwork inside and outside was made by a Birmingham company called Hart, Son, Peard & Co.. This included the unique cast-iron columns in the main gallery. By 1900, the museum's collection was considered "one of the finest and handsomest" in Britain.

Rebuilding After War

For many years, the museum relied on gifts from private individuals to grow its collection. In 1940, during World War II, seven of the museum's galleries were bombed. They had to be rebuilt.

After the war, "Mighty Mary" Mary Woodall and director Trenchard Cox helped the gallery a lot. They brought in exciting exhibitions and many donations. This made the gallery very popular.

In 1951, the Museum of Science and Industry became part of BM&AG. Later, in 2001, the Science Museum closed. Some of its exhibits moved to Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, which is now also part of the Birmingham Museums Trust.

BMAG-RoundRoom
The Round Room with Jacob Epstein's The Archangel Lucifer

The main entrance to the museum is in Chamberlain Square. It's right below the clock-tower, which locals call "Big Brum". A sign in the entrance hall says, 'By the gains of Industry we promote Art'. There are also other entrances through the Gas Hall and Waterhall on Edmund Street.

In 2010, the Waterhall gallery closed for a while due to budget cuts. However, both the Waterhall and the Gas Hall have since reopened for special exhibitions throughout the year.

Amazing Art Collection

The Art Gallery is especially famous for its large collection of paintings. These artworks range from the 14th century all the way to the 21st century.

Famous Painters You'll See

The gallery has a huge collection of works by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. This was a group of English artists who wanted to paint in a very detailed and colourful way, inspired by art before the time of Raphael. The museum also has the world's largest collection of paintings by Edward Burne-Jones.

Here are some of the famous painters whose works you can find here:

English Artists
Dutch Artists
Flemish Artists
French Artists
Impressionist Artists
German Artists
Italian Artists
Spanish Artists

Ancient Treasures and Local History

The museum also has a collection of ancient items. These include old coins from different times, and artefacts from Ancient India and Central Asia, Ancient Cyprus, and Ancient Egypt. There are also 28 pieces of Nimrud ivories from an archaeological school in Iraq. You can also see items from Classical Greece, the Roman Empire, and Latin America.

The museum also has a lot of medieval items. Many of these are now on display in "The Birmingham History Galleries." This is a permanent exhibition on the third floor of the museum.

The Staffordshire Hoard

In November 2014, a special gallery opened to show the amazing Staffordshire Hoard. This hoard was found in 2009 in a nearby village called Hammerwich. It is the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered!

The museum also keeps items related to local and industrial history. For example, the giant logo from the top of the old Birmingham HP Sauce factory is now in the museum's collection. This factory tower was a famous landmark in the city until it was taken down in 2007.

Gallery

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Museo y Galería de Arte de Birmingham para niños

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