Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre

Greater Manchester, BL9 0DR

Offers with National Art Pass

National Art Pass lets you enjoy free entry to over 240 venues across the UK as well as 50% off major exhibitions.

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Housed in an impressive Edwardian building, the museum explores the history of Bury and the surrounding area.

Rachel Goodyear, Fawn with Hand, 2008 - © the artist. Image courtesy:The International 3

JMW Turner, Calais Sands at Low Water: Poissards Collecting Bait, 1830

Bury Art Museum

Rachel Goodyear, Fawn with Hand, 2008

The gallery was specially built to house the Wrigley Collection – over two hundred oil paintings, watercolours, prints and ceramics that had been acquired by local paper manufacturer Thomas Wrigley. His three children gave them to the town in 1897 to be enjoyed by all.

Offers with National Art Pass

10% off shop purchases

Valid to 1 December 2018

Bury Art Museum offers something for all interests and the shop is no different, presenting a fantastic range of original artwork, jewellery and crafts. Enjoy 10% off shop purchases with your National Art Pass.

Permanent collection

As well as works by Turner, Constable and Landseer which were included in the original donation, successive curators have added to Wrigley's historic collection. The gallery houses 20th century paintings by Victor Pasmore and Edward Burra, and a growing number of pieces by contemporary artists. A new Sculpture Centre showcasing global contemporary work opened in 2014.

Turner's Calais Sands is probably the finest and most important picture in the entire collection at Bury. After it was shown at the Royal Academy in 1830 a critic for the Morning Chronicle wrote: 'It is literally nothing in labour but extraordinary in art'. The artist's father died shortly before this picture was painted, and the dimming sunset has been thought to symbolise his passing.