Bury Art Museum Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Bury Art Museum
Bury Art Museum with Bury Central Library
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Established	9 October 1901; 123 years ago (1901-10-09)
Location	Moss Street, Bury
Type	Art museum
Collection size	approx. 62,000 objects
Public transit access	Bury Interchange

The Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre is a special place in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It used to be called the Bury Museum and Art Gallery. This building is a public museum, a place for old records (called archives), and an art gallery. The local government, Bury Council, owns it. The museum building was first built in 1901. It was later made new again and opened its doors in 2005.

Discovering Bury Art Museum
- How the Museum Started
Exploring the Collections
- What Art You Can See
Modernizing the Museum
- The 2005 Renovation
Gallery
See also

Discovering Bury Art Museum

How the Museum Started

The idea for Bury Art Museum began in 1897. This was to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. A man named Thomas Wrigley (who lived from 1808 to 1880) gave a huge gift. He donated over 200 oil paintings, watercolours, prints, and ceramic items. Mr. Wrigley was a paper maker during the Victorian era. He had one important rule for his gift: a proper building had to be built to keep his collection safe.

The building you see today was designed by a company from Manchester called Woodhouse and Willoughby. It officially opened on 9 October 1901. Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby was there to open it. The town's own Museum opened in the basement of the Art Gallery in 1907.

Exploring the Collections

What Art You Can See

The museum's main collection is called the Wrigley Collection. It has more than 200 oil paintings, watercolours, prints, and ceramics. You can see famous artworks by artists like J. M. W. Turner, John Constable, Edwin Landseer, and George Clausen.

After the museum opened, many other people also gave artworks. One important person was James Kenyon (1846–1924), who was a Member of Parliament for the town. Other paintings include works by Henry Dawson, John Bagnold Burgess, and Joseph Noel Paton. The museum also has paintings from the 1900s by artists such as Victor Pasmore and Edward Burra. You can even find very new art from the 2000s there.

Modernizing the Museum

The 2005 Renovation

In 2005, the museum had a big update that cost £1.2 million. This project created a brand new museum, art gallery, and library all in one place. The Museum and Archives Centre was redesigned. It now uses old objects, documents, and art to tell the story of Bury town.

In 2006, the local council decided to sell a painting by L. S. Lowry called The Riverbank. This decision caused the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) to remove the museum's special "accredited" status. In 2011, the Bury Museum and Art Gallery changed its name to Bury Art Museum. The most recent updates to the museum include modern items like iPods and electric iRobot vacuum cleaners.