Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Is World Class
View The Last of England, The Blind Girl and Pre-Raphaelite Works
Jun 15, 2009
The Birmingham Art Gallery and Museum is a superb regional facility that was purpose-built for the pleasure and edification of the working poor of Birmingham over 120 years ago. Admission has always been free, with the exception of special exhibitions. The building, with its round room, airy skylights and Edwardian tea room, is in itself worthy of a visit.
The Art Collection at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
The collection centres on one of the finest Pre-Raphaelite displays in the world. Works by Edward Burne-Jones, Wiliam Morris, William Holman Hunt, Rossetti, Millais and others of the ‘Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’ are on display.
Two paintings that always have a cluster of viewers are the melancholy Victorian works, “The Blind Girl” by Millais and “The Last of England” by Ford Madox Brown.
The Blind Girl by John Everett Millais
In this painting, the striking colours of a golden field and vivid rare double rainbow against a looming stormy purple sky – a scene of awe-inspiring beauty – bring home the pathos of the foreground figure of a blind girl, faced away from this natural wonder, blind even to the bright butterfly on her shawl. In addition, her young sister, who leans into her for support, seems to be shielding her eyes with the shawl, as if to say, “If you can’t see it, I won’t look either.” Both girls are dressed drably in tattered clothes in contrast to the natural beauty around them and are most likely beggars.
The Last of England by Ford Madox Brown
This stark portrait of two shipboard emigrants, rugged up against a strong wind, staring fixedly at their receding country, reflects the understanding that most early emigrants to Australia had that they were unlikely to see their homeland again. The expressions are doleful. The Birmingham art gallery provides valuable descriptive notes beside each painting. The note for The Last of England reveals that Ford Madox Brown sat his model for the wife (his own wife Emma) in a field of snow to recreate the shadow-less light experienced on the open seas.
The Round Room, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
The Round Room is a spectacular gallery, where paintings are in three tiers to the roof. The top row, however, is too far from the viewer for scrutiny and, especially, from close underneath, take on a reflective sheen from the skylight, which adds to the difficulty. The room has some wonderful paintings, including Elijah Walton’s Monte Marmorolo, Italy, a huge canvas of an alpine landscape.
World Famous Masters
It is to be expected that the Birmingham Gallery would house an excellent collection of local and British artists. Constable, Gainsborough, Hogarth, Landseer and Turner are represented. The extent of the collection may come as a surprise, however, when the visitor discovers paintings by Murillo, Canaletto, Botticelli, Bellini, Renoir, Pissarro and Rubens. Add to this, a superb collection of traditional and modern sculptures and the gallery guarantees an entertaining day. Sculptures that demand attention include the Big Blue Hand by John Davies and Helmet by Mo Jupp. The Modern Art Collection, Museum and Antiquities Collections are also extensive, delightful, and regrettably, beyond the scope of this article.
The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is not well placed for public transport, in that it is the pedestrianised heart of the city, but is in easy walking distance from the three train stations and from city bus stops. Simplest route is to follow the main shopping street, New Street from New Street Railway Station, enter Victoria Square, climb the stairs near Dhruva Mistry’s wonderful fountain, River Goddess (known locally as the Floozie in the Jacuzzi), walk past the ornate Council Offices into Chamberlain Square, where the entrance to the museum is signposted.
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