Our most successful year ever

The Museum of Liverpool’s first birthday celebration in July was just one of the events that brought in crowds in 2012

Museums in Liverpool are the most popular in England outside London, according to the 2012 visitor figures issued by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA).The Museum of Liverpool attracted more than 1 million visitors, and was the most visited museum in England, outside of London.

This wasn’t the only success story though. The number of visitors to the Walker Art Gallery increased by 40%, mainly due to the popular exhibition ‘Rolf Harris: Can you tell what it is yet?’ The International Slavery Museum saw a 9% increase and visitor numbers to the Lady Lever Art Gallery increased by 7%. Read more…

An insight into NML’s exhibitions

Thank you to Izzy Stubbs for helping out in the Exhibitions Department last week. Find out about what Izzy got up to:

As a 15 year old on work experience, I felt intrigued as to what duties I would have to carry out working within the National Museums Liverpool organisation. Over the week I have visited places like the Decorative Art costume storage where lots of clothes, pottery, hats, shoes, toys and more are stored. I especially enjoyed this area of NML because I am currently taking GCSE textiles and I feel as though seeing clothes from as far back as the 18th century has given me a greater understanding of the history behind the beautifully embroidered materials. I also visited the Lady Lever Art Gallery to see the current exhibition, A Pre-Raphaelite Journey (which I highly recommend) and the Merseyside Maritime Museum to see the Titanic exhibition - Titanic & Liverpool: the Untold Story. Even half an hour before closing time the exhibition was still bustling with people! Read more…

Royal paintings at the Walker

As it’s the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this weekend it seems fitting to pause regally to celebrate some of our favourite royal gems from the Walker Art Gallery…

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – An 80th Birthday Portrait by Rolf Harris

© Rolf Harris Enterprises Ltd

This contemporary painting is on display until 12 August 2012, as part of our Rolf Harris exhibition ‘Can you tell what it is yet?’. This painting shows Queen Elizabeth II on her 80th birthday, which she celebrated in 2006. Rolf shows a relaxed side of The Queen, who smiles broadly in this colourful painting.  Read more…