New Walk Museum & Art Gallery
53 New Walk
Leicester
Leicestershire
LE1 7EA
England
Website
www.leicester.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries
Enquiries
Telephone
Reception
0116 225 4900
Fax
General
0116 225 4927
On the historic New Walk, Leicester's original museum has collections spanning the natural and cultural world. A family friendly day-out, displays include Dinosaurs, Egyptians, Geology, The Den, Wild Space and World Arts.
The art galleries showcase Modern and Old Masters, contemporary art and craft exhibitions and permanent galleries of Picasso Ceramics: The Attenborough Collection and German Expressionist art, one of the most notable collections outside of Germany.
The museum offers a varied events programme, Costa coffee shop with free Wi-Fi access and gift shop including a range of exhibition merchandise and contemporary craft and design. The venue is also available for private hire and licensed for civil marriage and naming ceremonies.
Venue Type:
Museum, Gallery
On the historic New Walk, Leicester's oldest museum has collections spanning the natural and cultural world. A family friendly day-out, displays include Egyptians, Wild Space, World Arts and Leicester’s Fine Art collection. Changing exhibitions feature works by Modern and Old Masters with Leicester’s German Expressionist collection, one of the most notable outside of Germany.
Collection details
World Cultures, Natural Sciences, Fine Art, Decorative and Applied Art, Archaeology
Ayuba Suleiman Diallo: Lost Lands and New Horizons
The eighteenth century portrait of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo is the earliest known British portrait of a freed black slave.
This exhibition examines how forced migration affected Diallo’s identity and the way he was perceived by others by comparing the painting with two more modern portraits; one from Leicester’s internationally renowned German Expressionist collection and the other created by a group of ladies from the Somali Development Centre on Abingdon Road, Leicester.
On loan from the Orientalist Museum, Doha and brought to Leicester in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery, this display is part of a touring exhibition.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free admission
Website
Expressionist Spirit: Early 20th Century German Art at Leicester
A new permanent gallery celebrates a remarkable collection of German Expressionist Art. Founded in Leicester during the dark days of war, and now with over 350 artworks, the collection is acclaimed as the finest of its kind in the UK. The permanent gallery display shows a selection of the collection.
The initial collection began with works acquired from the groundbreaking exhibition ‘Mid-European Art’, which took place at the museum in 1944. The exhibition featured unique works from private collections, which had been brought to England and safety by refugee artists and collectors.
Expressionist artists sought to liberate powerful emotions in their art, which they believed lay beneath the surface appearance of everyday life. Artists in the collection include Marc, Kandinsky, Münter, Heckel, Kirchner, Jawlensky and Schmidt-Rottluff. Artists preceding, or influenced by Expressionism also enrich the collection, including Liebermann, Feininger, Kollwitz and Grosz.
Funding support for works in the collection has been received from The Art Fund, The V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the City of Leicester Museums Trust.
Suitable for
- Any age
Where
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery
Admission
Free admission
Website
Magic Worlds: Fantasy, Illusion and Enchantment
Magic Worlds is a family-friendly exhibition which delves into the spell-binding world of magic and illusion. Created by the V&A Museum of Childhood, Magic Worlds invites visitors to explore the fantastical realms of witches, wizards and fairies and celebrate the conjuring feats of the finest stage magicians.
Designed around the themes of fantasy, illusion and enchantment, the exhibition will feature a huge range of costumes, tricks, vintage toys, paintings, ceramics, illustrations, posters, puppets and games. Visitors will find displays based on their favourite fantasy tales, including Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
Objects on show will include film replicas of Harry Potter’s broomstick and the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings, as well as vintage Cinderella and Prince Charming mechanical dancing dolls and puppets of characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, dating from the 1940s.
Suitable for
- Any age
Where
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester
Admission
Free admission
Website
Picasso Ceramics: The Attenborough Collection
Following on from the highly successful 2007 exhibition, New Walk Museum & Art Gallery is delighted to present Picasso: The Attenborough Collection, a permanent gallery of selected key works from the collection of Lord and Lady Attenborough.
In 1954 Richard and Sheila Attenborough paid their first visit to the Madoura pottery in Vallauris, where Picasso had been working for several years with Georges and Suzanne Ramié. The Attenboroughs started with modest purchases, leading to a collection numbering some 150 pieces.
All of Picasso’s activity with ceramics centred around the Madoura pottery factory in Vallauris, France. Picasso made plates, jugs and tiles but he also designed new forms combining aspects of painting and sculpture in ceramics. The majority of the collection consists of Editions and Original Impressions; multiple works that Picasso insisted the pottery should produce and sell inexpensively, so that everyone could own a ‘Picasso’.
This intimate permanent exhibition shows a changing display of around forty works selected from the unique collection, curated by renowned Picasso expert, Dr Marilyn McCully.
In 2007, Lord and Lady Attenborough announced that their Picasso ceramics collection would be entrusted to the City of Leicester to commemorate the lives of their daughter, Jane Mary, and their granddaughter, Lucy Elizabeth, who perished together in the Asian Tsunami on 26th December 2004.
Suitable for
- Any age
Where
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery
Admission
Free admission
Website
The Dinosaur Gallery: Exploring Lost Worlds
The Rutland Dinosaur is back!
The Dinosaur, a Cetiosaurus, is taking centre stage in the new exhibition that will show extinct animals were not ‘prehistoric monsters’ but living and breathing creatures. Discover what life was like millions of years ago and see how the world and the living things on it change constantly over time. Explore lost worlds and find out how dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals lived.
Suitable for all ages, the gallery includes new dinosaur interactives, hands-on activities and cutting edge reconstructions of marine reptiles.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
Where
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery
Website
The Den
Come and investigate The Den! The Den is a dedicated space for children aged five and under and their families. Explore exciting new ways to experience museum objects and how they open up opportunities for fun and learning around the museum.
Look, listen, touch, move - in The Den there are no right or wrong answers... the only limit is your imagination!
Suitable for
- 0-4
- 5-6
Where
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester
Admission
Free admission
Website
Fossil Handling Session
Join us on the first Saturday of every month for a fossil handling session in the Dinosaur gallery with a chance to get up close to an excellent selection of fossils from the museum collection.
Suitable for
When
11am-4pm
Admission
Free event, for more details call 0116 225 4900.
Fossil Handling Session
Join us on the first Saturday of every month for a fossil handling session in the Dinosaur gallery with a chance to get up close to an excellent selection of fossils from the museum collection.
Suitable for
When
11am-4pm
Admission
Free event, for more details call 0116 225 4900.
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