The Museum was established in 1862, at a time when large fortunes were being made in the Cotton Industry. The industrial magnates of towns in Lancashire endowed a number of galleries at that time, and tended to buy contemporary British art. The North West is, as a result, rich in Victorian art. Such is the case at Blackburn's excellent gallery. The main gallery in which the nineteenth century art is displayed is at the rear of the building. It was obviously originally top-lit by the use of a substantial area of glass in the roof, but the panels have been covered over, and the gallery is electrically lit. The good news about this is that it has been extremely well-done, and, surprisingly, seemed to enhance the gallery. The pleasant, friendly, helpful female staff were a constant reminder I was in Lancashire.

Collections.
Like most long-established UK galleries, Blackburn has many more paintings than it has space to exhibit. At the time of my visit the following were the most notable paintings on display. There are three excellent seascapes as follows.

Henry Moore RA, RWS 1831-1895.Rough Seas in the Mediterranean.
Henry Moore was the elder, and favourite, brother of Albert Joseph. He specialised in sea paintings, and Moore blue was a well-known term at the time. The large canvass creates a vivid image the limitless power and beauty of the sea.

Sir David Murray RA 1849-1933. St Oswalds Bay at Lulworth

J Olsson RA.- The Reef

Richard Andsell RA - .The Highland Bothy
A hunting party resting, with their' bag,' of animals. The Victorians were extremely fond of this type of picture, which we, in a more squeemish find rather gruesome.

Edwin Long RA - Christ or Diana
Completed in 1881 this large painting is somewhat typical of Long's output. It concerns the efforts of the Roman Authorities to suppress Christianity in Ephesus, now Turkey. The painting is highly finished though the faces of the group of women in the foreground are similar and lack characterisation. The painting reminds me of Leighton in it's static lifeless feel. Having said that, however, it is a highly skilled production calculated to appeal to Victorian sensibilities, and the success of Edwin Long in his lifetime is not surprising. With the ornate gilded frame it is a supreme example of Victorian High art.

Lord Frederic Leighton  - Mother and Child
One of the artist's most popular and famous paintings(painted in 1864/5) and deservedly so. It confirms my impression that the decorative smaller paintings produced by Leighton in the 1860s and 70s are the best things he did. In this painting the artist successfully combined a number of disparate, difficult to reconcile, facets of Victorian art. The picture is a sentimental celebration of family life, it is highly decorative, with the rich colouring of the carpet, and it gives an overall impression of peace and serenity. The shadow on the child's face is masterly, and the soft-focus on the face of the mother is just beautiful. The whole comes together in a supremely decorative picture.

Albert Joseph Moore - The Loves of The Winds and the Seasons.
The main reason for my making this visit was to see this fascinating picture, by the greatest of the Victorian aesthetic artists. The dying Moore spent the last months of his life in a heroic effort to complete this wonderful painting. That he succeeded so well is a tribute to his greatness not only as an artist, but as a man. The painting, unusually for Moore, is an allegory. It also gives some indication of the way his art would have developed had not death intervened. The painting of the flowers in the foreground is a marvel, and a clump of dying dandelions is wonderfully observed and painted. The whole painting has the superbly integrated colour schemes for which he was renowned. In the background there is a storm.

The light of the foreground, and the stormy background give a remarkable impression. Some of the painting is more loosely handled than usual, and, two of the faces show some characterisation, perhaps a sign that Moore was moving away from purely aesthetic painting. This painting is a masterpiece, and alone is worth the visit. To see it was, for the writer, one of life's great experiences.