2-854-331 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

City Art Gallery, Mosley Street, Manchester, 1942. An exterior view of the City Art Gallery, formerly the Royal Manchester Institution, showing the front facade from an elevation position in the west. The gallery was built by Sir Charles Barry between 1824 and 1835, with two storeys thoughout and a central attic. The front elevation has a large Ionic portico flanked by three bay wings with the attic over the pediment. The portico has six giant Ionic columns, and two further columns in antis, and is accessed by wide steps. The gallery was the site of the first attack on art by the suffragettes; on 3rd April 1913 Lillian Forrester and Evelyn Manesta smashed glass to artworks in Room 2. Thirteen artworks were damaged during the event.