Birmingham Art Gallery

I visited this gallery last Friday and was amazed at the quality of the 19th Century painting which they have.  There's a fine version of Ford Madox Brown's "The Last of England", almost identical to that held by the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge:

There's what must be almost a full size water-colour study for Burne Jones' "King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid":

There's Millais's "The Blind Girl:

There's a half size copy by Ford Madox brown of his "Work", the original of which hangs in Manchester:

This is Rossetti's final version of "Beata Beatrix", left unfinished at his death in 1882:

All these and many other fine Pre-Raphaelite paintings.  Birmingham's modern collection is much sparser, and the very recent stuff is mostly the usual rubbish that will probably be in a skip within 20 years (we can but hope), but there is a reconstruction of Epstein's amazing "Rock Drill" from 1913 - twelve feet high and very imposing:

 

Finally a couple of works from about the same period.  First is C R W Nevinson's "Column on the March" from about 1915 - stunning, and I've never seen it before:

 

And from a few years later, Munnings' "Arrival at Epsom Downs for Derby Day":