Athenaeum Princess Street Manchester

Image: © Robert Wade Taken: 10 Aug 2010

After 1882, The Royal Institution which had been based in the present City Art Gallery (above) transferred its art treasures to Manchester Corporation, conditional upon £4,000 a year being committed from rates by the Corporation to purchase further works of art. The original gallery soon became overcrowded, and after many other new sites had been rejected, it was decided to build the Athenaeum, immediately behind the City Gallery as an extension to the gallery's facilities. Charles Barry, who had designed the Art Gallery, was commissioned to build the Athenaeum. This time he chose a Tuscan Italian Palazzo style, quite different from the original, with a connecting entrance directly with the Art Gallery, and a separate entrance in Princess Street. This now forms a visiting or temporary art and craft exhibition space, with frequently changing and exciting shows on offer. Both the eminent art critic John Ruskin, and Charles Dickens gave lectures in this building. Now part of the main Manchester City Art Gallery - the subject of considerable refurbishment and a novel solution to joining two great Manchester buildings together.

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