Sunlight soap manufacturer and philanthropist William Hesketh Lever, first Viscount Leverhulme, founded the gallery in 1922 to enrich the cultural and educational lives of his workforce.
The gallery is particularly strong in British 18th- and 19th-century painting and sculpture, Pre-Raphaelite art, tapestry, furniture, Chinese porcelain and Wedgwood jasper ware.
The South End galleries are currently closed while they undergo extensive refurbishment. The updated rooms, containing new and more accessible displays of Wedgwood, Chinese ceramics and 18th-century furniture, will be unveiled in 2016.
