Liverpool City Centre Accommodation

Tate Liverpool on the Albert Dock.Main centre for the Tate in the North. Free Entrance

Cafes on the Albert Dock near the Tate Liverpool

Art in the Age of Steam, Exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool's Capital of Culture Year

Walker Art Gallery dating from 1882 in Liverpool's Cultural Quarter

Liverpool Art Galleries Tate The Walker Art Gallery Lady Lever Sudley House Liverpool Art

Liverpool is an internationally acclaimed centre for art. One of only four Tate galleries in the UK is here in Liverpool on the Albert Dock, with exhibitions pulling on the outstanding national Tate contemporary art collection. It's no accident that Liverpool is a centre for art - many of the collections originated from personal collections amassed by the city's wealthy merchants and industrialists - George Holt at Sudley and William Hesketh Lever at the Lady Lever Gallery. For both British and European art, the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool city centre is one of the North's best, whilst Sudley House just south of the centre displays its fine collection of Gainsborough, Turner, Romney and others within its original setting - the Victorian Merchant House owned by George Holt, bequethed by his daughter to the city.

Alongside Liverpool's big four art galleries, the city boasts a fine selection of smaller independent galleries in the centre (see webguides right for details). Capital of Culture year 2008 also sees some exciting art exhibitions afoot including 'Art in the Age of Steam' at the Walker which will include images of rail from a superb mix of British, wider European and American artists - Edward Hopper is to feature! Ben Johnson's panoramic painting of Liverpool - 'The Liverpool Cityscape' is also to be exhibited in the Walker initially, and on to its permanent home in the new Liverpool Museum when it opens on Mann Island in 2010.

Tate Liverpool Albert Dock

Free to enter, Tate Liverpool on the Albert Dock is a mecca for contemporary art lovers. One of four Tate Galleries in England, and the only Tate in the North, the gallery's changing exhibitions pull on the impressive national Tate collection.

20th and 21st Century art are the focus at Tate Liverpool, with changing temporary exhibitions featuring an international programme. See a full listing of current work on display and feature exhibitions via the Tate's webguide. Expect big names (Picasso, Pollock, Bacon, Rothko and so on) across the full spectrum including painting, sculpture, film and visual media and photography. During Capital of Culture year 2008, the Tate Liverpool is to feature an exciting exhibition of Gustav Klimt's work from 30 May to August 08.

Tate Liverpool, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4BB. Tel. 0151 702 7400.

Tate Liverpool is open from September to May Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5.50pm, closed on Mondays (except Bank Holiday Mondays). June to August Tate Liverpool is open Monday to Sunday, 10am to 5.50pm.

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool City Centre

The Walker Art Gallery in the heart of Liverpool city centre offers an oustanding collection of art and ranks as one of the North's best art galleries. Art on display includes both British and European art, running through the 13th, 16th, 18th, 19th to the 20th century. Expect to see work by big names such as Degas, Rembrandt, Stubbs, Gainsborough and contemporary artists such as Freud, Moore and Hockney. With free entrance, and often free talks check out the website for listings of paintings, current exhibitions and events.

As part of Capital of Culture year 2008 the Walker is showing the 'Art in the Age of Steam' exhibition from 18 April to 10 August 08. Over 100 works are to be included in this spectacular exhibition including top European and North American artists such as Edward Hopper, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet and Frith. The exhibition will pull together some of Europe's classic images of rail and railway journies including 'The Travelling Companions' by Augustus Egg and depictions of the railway by American artists Thomas Hart Benton and Edward Hopper. Read news via the Walker's webguide too on Ben Johnson's commissioned painting 'The Liverpool Cityscape' for Capital of Culture year due for exhibition from May 08. Initially Johnson's work will be displayed in the Walker Art Gallery, but will move to the new Liverpool Museum when it opens on Mann Island in 2010.

The building housing the Walker Art Gallery is one of the city centres great Victorian listed buildings in a neoclassical style. The Walker has a long history as art gallery - it's been displaying art in the city for over a century. Today rooms (15 in all) are conveniently split into themes which include Medieval and Renaissance art, 17th centuy Dutch & Flemish art where you'll find Rembrandt, Pre-Raphaelites including Madox Brown and various Liverpool Pre-Raphaelites, Romanticism and Early 19th century including Turner, Constable and West, High Victorian art including Rossetti, Impressionism and after including a superb collection of Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Seurat and Matisse and from the 1950s changing displays.

Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street, Liverpool, L3 8EL. Tel. 0151 478 4199.www.thewalker.org.uk

Sudley House Art Gallery

Many of Liverpool's fine art collections originate from personal collections by entrepreneurs and merchants. The outstanding collection at Sudley House just south of Liverpool city centre is no exception. The unique edge to this collection is that it sits within its original Victorian Merchant's home - that of merchant George Holt who began accumulating art in the late 19th century. Holt's daughter Emma left the collection to the city in 1944.

Sudley House's impressive collections includes big name British artists like Turner, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Raeburn, Opie, Wilkie, George Romney and popular Victorian artists like Aberdeen born John Phillip.

Works by Turner include 'Rosenau' and 'The Wreck Buoy' and by George Romney 'Mrs Sargent' (all in the Dining Room).

Sudley House, Mossley Hill Road, Aigburth, Liverpool L18 8BX. Tel. 0151 724 3245. Open 10am-5pm daily. Closed from 2pm on 24 December, all day 25 and 26 December and 1 January. Look to Sudley House's webguide link right for details on changing exhibitions and a detailed tour of art through each of the rooms. Public transport is recommended from the city centre as parking on-site is limited. Trains to Aigburth station within walking distance from Sudley House are from both Lime Street, Liverpool Central and Moorfields (see Merseytravel webguide for details).

Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight Village

Renowned for its collection of fine and decorative arts, the Lady Lever Art Gallery sits across the Mersey in Port Sunlight Village near Bebington. The eclectic mix of art on display here at Lady Lever is derived from the personal collection of William Hesketh Lever, 1st Lord Leverhulme. His original inspiration for collecting art from the 1880s was the use of images for advertising his Port Sunlight soap. He soon went on to amass a huge art collection, buying complete collections from other distinguished collectors.

Lever founded the gallery in 1922 and highlights within include a superb collection of 18th and 19th century British painting alongside acclaimed collections of Wedgwood, Chinese porcelain and 18th century furniture.

Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight Village, Wirral, CH62 5EQ. Tel. 0151 478 4136. Entry is Free. From Liverpool city centre by road drive through the Birkenhead (Queensway) Tunnel (small toll) then follow clear signs to Port Sunlight village via the A41 New Chester Road. The Lady Lever Gallery is clearly signposted all the way from the tunnel. Buses from Liverpool city centre are either numbers 464 or 38 to Bebington Road from Sir Thomas Street Liverpool City Centre. Detailed directions are on the Lady Lever webguide below.

www.ladyleverartgallery.org.ukOpen 10am-5pm daily Closed from 2pm on 24 December, all day 25 and 26 December and 1 January.

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