Hartlepool Art Gallery is situated in a stunning and beautifully restored former Victorian church. Built in 1854 by the architect, E. B. Lamb, it was reopened in 1996 as an art gallery during the Year of Visual Arts. The gallery’s temporary exhibition programme changes frequently, ranging from contemporary works, touring exhibitions, and displays drawn from our permanent Fine Art Collection, which was established by our founder Sir William Cresswell Gray in 1920. His artworks remain in the museum collection to this day, and comprise some of our best known and best loved artworks, including the People's Favourite ‘Sleeping Beauty', by the artist Daniel Maclise. Collecting continued throughout the twentieth century to include works by local artists, and to include significant events and themes across the borough. We continue to collect now, although on a smaller scale, looking to fill gaps in the existing collection to better represent artists originally from, or working, in our area.