LGBTQ+ collections

LGBTQ+ collections

These collections reflect historic and contemporary LGBTQ+ life, experiences and culture and offer new interpretations of the material from Walker Art Gallery, Museum of Liverpool, Lady Lever Art Gallery and Sudley House.  They reveal the contributions of LGBTQ+ people in a range of fields, from music to art and design, to social activism and politics.

These collections were formed as part of the Pride & Prejudice research project, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Liverpool has a long and diverse LGBTQ+ history, from gay life at sea and in port to the thriving modern gay quarter around Stanley Street. The Museum of Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ collections are drawn from the wider social and community history collections which seek to reflect the stories and experiences of Liverpool people, past and present. 

The decorative and fine art collections of the Walker Art Gallery, Lady Lever Art Gallery and Sudley House are amongst the best in Europe. Amid the familiar – and the less well known - objects are works that help to tell often hidden or overlooked LGBTQ+ histories and stories. These narratives sometimes emerge through the identity of the artist or the subject matter of a piece, or through historic or current interpretations of a subject.