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<p><font face="Arial" size="2">Port Sunlight / Lady Lever Art Gallery</font> </p>
<p><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><small>William Hesketh Lever established the gallery to
enrich the cultural and educational aspects of the lives of his workforce and the public
at large.The Lady Lever Art Gallery was opened in 1922 by Princess Beatrice (youngest
daughter of Queen Victoria). It is probably the best surviving example of late
Victorian and Edwardian taste.</small></font></p>
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<td valign="top" align="left" width="291" bgcolor="#cococo" height="66"><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><small>The collection concentrates heavily on the period roughly between
1750 and 1900, charting the foundation and rise of the Royal Academy, the golden age of
British landscape painting and Victorian art. </small></font>
<p><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><small>Lever's
acquistion of antiquities started in earnest after 1913 when he decided to found the
gallery. He wanted to show the main influences for English neo-classical art
and in particular for his collection of wedgwood. </small></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><small>The greatest part of the collection is porcelain of
the Kangxi period, the bulk of which were the blue-and-white and the enamelled porcelains.
After the decision to found a public museum, Lever's tastes were broadened to include
examples of lacquer, cloisonne and Canton enamel.</small></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><small>Josiah Wedgwood (1730 - 1795) revolutionised English
pottery and turned the hitherto humble artform into the realms of fashionable taste.
Jasperware, the slightly translucent stoneware was Wedgwood's most famous product, many
fine examples of which can be found in the gallery together the 'old wedgwood' of the
Tweedmouth pieces.</small></font></p>
<p><small><small><small><small><font face="Arial">REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUMS AND
GALLERIES ON MERSEYSIDE, LADY LEVER ART GALLERY,PORT SUNLIGHT. NO AUTHORISED COPYING OF
THESE IMAGES IS PERMITTED </font></small></small></small></small></p>
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<td valign="top" align="left" width="252" bgcolor="#cococo" height="66"><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><small>The five period rooms provide a historical context for Lever's
presentation of developments in English furniture. Other exhibits represent Lever's
fascination with 18th century furntiure.</small></font>
<p><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><small>The textile collection heavily reflects Lever's fascination with
British embroidery - he saw this type of decorative art as reflective of the high level of
skill and craft English workers could achieve. </small></font></p>
<p><small><font face="Arial">The broad scope of the works on display is a testament to Lever's commitment
to 18th century classicism and especially to Victorian high art. The unusual bronzes
complement the fabled masterpieces of Burne-Jones, Rossetti, Waterhouse and Leighton.</font></small></p>
<p><small><font face="Arial">The principal components are ethnographic and Masonic and miscellaneous items
such as watches and sundials. The collection demonstrates Lever's desire to combine social
benevolence with his commercial activities.</font></small></p>
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