Rembrandt, Leonardo and the sky at night for NML in 2019
Rembrandt, Whistler, Charles Rennie Macintosh, Leonardo Da Vinci and the 50th anniversary of the moon landings will be celebrated in exhibitions at National Museums Liverpool venues in 2019.
There will also be the first exhibition outside Japan covering the work of 19th century artist Taki Katei, a favourite of the Emperor.
NML has already announced a pair of big name shows at the Walker Art Gallery over the next 12 months.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh: making the Glasgow Style runs from March 15 to 26 August 26. Tickets for the blockbuster exhibition go on general sale from next Tuesday, October 23 at 10am, with a special members’ pre-sale starting from 10am today, Wednesday 17 October, when members can pre-book their free tickets (subject to availability) along with tickets for friends and family.
Above: Margaret Mackintosh's The May Queen. Copyright: CSG CIC Glasgow Museums
Top: Aurora Borealis on the edge of the Barents Sea.Credit: Michael Zav'yalov
Tickets are priced from £9 for adults and £2 for children aged between six and 17. Children aged five and under go free, while there will be a number of additional concessions. For further details of prices, how to book tickets and to become a member visit: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mackintosh
Ahead of the Rennie Macintosh exhibition, there will be a showcase of Leonardo da Vinci’s greatest drawings from the Royal Collection. Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing, which opens on February 1 and runs until May 6.
The Liverpool show marks the 500th anniversary of the death of this Renaissance master, as part of a nationwide event across 12 simultaneous exhibitions in the UK.
Lady Lever Art Gallery is set to play host to Rembrandt in Print, from June 1 to September 15. Organised by the Ashmolean Museum, which holds a world class collection of more than 200 prints made by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, this exhibition will present the Dutch master as an unrivalled storyteller through a selection of around 50 outstanding prints, dating from 1630 to the late 1650s.
Meanwhile, World Museum will host two major exhibitions.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year runs from May 3 to September 1, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the moon landing on July 20.
The exhibition celebrates the very best in astrophotography from around the world, showcasing up to 100 images from the 2018 competition shortlist including entries from enthusiastic amateurs and professional photographers from 91 countries.
And during the UK/Japan Season of Culture running from Autumn 2019 to Summer 2020, the William Brown museum will stage the first ever exhibition of Taki Katei’s work outside Japan (4 October 2019 to 13 April 2020).
It draws on National Museums Liverpool’s rare archive of more than 300 exquisite preparatory drawings the artist used for teaching, for preparation of some of his major commissions, and as an aide-mémoire.
Katei was once the highest-paid artist in Tokyo, and his works travelled to international exhibitions around the world. This exhibition will tell the story of how this collection of ink drawings and watercolours travelled thousands of miles from an artist’s studio in Tokyo to a museum in Liverpool.
Finally, Sudley House in Mossley Hill will display Whistler and Pennell: Etching the City from July 5 to March 29 2020. The exhibition, previously on display at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, features 38 prints from two of the most influential and innovative etchers - James McNeill Whistler and Joseph Pennell.
Ongoing exhibitions include Double Fantasy at the Museum of Liverpool, Leo Fitzmaurice at the Walker Art Gallery, and Journey to Justice at the International Slavery Museum.