Biography
The Victoria Art Gallery opened in 1900, in a building that it shared with Bath Library until 1989. A focus for civic pride, the Gallery was conceived not just as a place where the Council’s growing art collections could be cared for and presented to the public, but also as a celebration of a beloved monarch; the Gallery was named after Queen Victoria, and its foundation stone was laid in 1897, the year of her Diamond Jubilee.
the collection includes many works by artists who have lived and worked in the area, such as Thomas Gainsborough and Walter Sickert. In the 18th century Bath was an important centre for portrait painting, in the 20th century it again became famous with the innovative works produced by artists working at Bath Academy of Art.
