Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing at Walker Art Gallery

Name: Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing at Walker Art Gallery
Start: 2019-02-01T10:00:00
End: 2019-05-06T16:00:00
Location: Walker Art Gallery

Creative Tourist Last Updated 6 December 2018

Visit now

Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing

Walker Art Gallery, City Centre

1 February-6 May 2019

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Free

Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing at Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool — Leonardo da Vinci, The head of Leda, c.1505-8. Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018.

Book now

In February 2019, to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, 144 of the Renaissance master’s greatest drawings in the Royal Collection will go on display in 12 simultaneous exhibitions across the UK. Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing, a nationwide event, will give the widest-ever UK audience the opportunity to see the work of this extraordinary artist. The Walker in Liverpool will be looking at the diversity of subjects that inspired Leonardo’s creativity across 12 drawings, from botanical and anatomical studies to the design of theatrical costumes, hairstyles and ferry-boat plans.

Where to go near Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing at Walker Art Gallery

St John's Gardens, Liverpool. Courtesy St John's Gardens

City Centre

Park

St. John’s Gardens

A little sanctuary in the middle of the city

City Centre

Museum

World Museum Liverpool

There is something for everyone at this museum, making it hugely popular with families.

City Centre

Library

Liverpool Central Library

The final building in the World Heritage Site of William Brown Street to be revamped, the wonderfully restored Central Library takes pride of place in Liverpool’s architecturally stunning Cultural Quarter.

Liverpool

Shop

Henry Bohn Books

Prepare to do some browsing and digging – this second hand bookshop is full of hidden treasures just waiting to be discovered

City Centre

Event venue

St George’s Hall, Liverpool

A stunning Hall at the heart of the city

City Centre

Music venue

Liverpool Empire Theatre

The largest two-tier theatre in the country, the Liverpool Empire Theatre boasts a busy programme of performances and events all year round.

City Centre

Tourist Attraction

Liverpool Lime Street Station

A visit to Liverpool starting and ending at Lime Street Station

City Centre

Music venue

O2 Academy Liverpool

O2 Academy Liverpool (formerly the L2 and Carling Academy Liverpool) boasts two performance areas that host live music and clubnights.

City Centre

Theatre

Royal Court Theatre

The Royal Court Theatre stages mostly home-grown comedies, somewhat mannered and self-conscious reflections of an inward-looking city.

City Centre

Hotel

The Liner Hotel

The Liner Hotel offers accommodation in style, with comfort, luxury and a seasonal menu in a central Liverpool location.

City Centre

Hotel

Shankly Hotel

A glamorous tribute to Bill Shankly in hotel form, where else will you find a place where luxury meets fun in such style?

City Centre

Bar or Pub

Ship and Mitre

Traditional Liverpool pub with a wide selection of draught beers and ales.

See all places

What's on: Exhibitions

Alana Lake, Fallout, 2025. Image courtesy of the artist.

Until 19 Apr

ExhibitionsCastlefield

Broken Ecologies at Castlefield Gallery

Broken Ecologies brings together Alana Lake and Deeqa Ismail to reflect on power, protest, memory and survival.

Free entry

Until 19 Apr

ExhibitionsLeeds

Plant Dreaming at Leeds Art Gallery

‘Plant Dreaming’ gathers the work of seven contemporary artists and their thoughts on plant knowledge and ecopolitics, at Leeds Art Gallery.

Free entry

In a dimly lit gallery, three visitors observe large screens displaying monochrome animated figures. Two people sit on wooden benches, while a third stands, all captivated by the striking visuals. Studio lights illuminate the scene.

Until 19 Apr

ExhibitionsWakefield

William Kentridge: The Pull of Gravity at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

YSP presents ‘The Pull of Gravity’ an exhibition of sculpture and film from the legendary artist William Kentridge.

From £0.00

Woman with blue hair and sunglasses lounges next to a tank filled with jellyfish and flanked by cryptominers. The background is blue and has jellyfish floating around. Red text appears at the top and reads:

Until 26 Apr

ExhibitionsLiverpool

Can Meeple Escape the Neurophoria? at FACT

FACT’s new exhibition probes how our entanglement with AI is reshaping behaviour, identity and the fragile idea of human choice.

Free entry

Until 15 May

ExhibitionsChorlton

All That Matters at The Edge

Alan Jones’s photography exhibition in Chorlton explores fragments of impossibly large systems through images of discarded objects with long afterlives.

Free entry

Charmaine Poh, The Moon Is Wet (2025), 24:30, 3-channel video installation. Commissioned by PalaisPopulaire. Film still courtesy of the artist.

Until 16 May

ExhibitionsManchester

Thresholds of Becoming at esea contemporary

Marking its 40th anniversary, esea contemporary looks forward rather than back with a group exhibition that probes ideas of transition.

Free entry

Until 30 May

ExhibitionsManchester

Black Country Type II at The Modernist

The Black Country. Not always the first place people associate with colour, design and typography – but Tom Hicks has spent years looking closely enough to challenge that.

Free entry

A doll with makeup peeks out of a hanging wall of butter yellow fabric. Red and black threads descend and cascade around the doll.

Until 31 May

ExhibitionsManchester

Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground at The Whitworth

The Whitworth showcases one of contemporary art’s most unruly imaginations as 2024 Turner Prize nominee Delaine Le Bas arrives with a major solo exhibition.

Free entry

Culture Guides

A busy image created using generative AI. The image depicts a man at the centre with grey hair and rosy cheeks, surrounding him are fairies that appear to be created in his own image with multiple limbs and unique bodily proportions. Around them are hundreds of vials, microscopes and dated scientific equipment.

Exhibitions

Spring has sprung a wealth of great exhibitions in the North West, from intimate photographic shows to huge installations.

Music

Our latest music picks spotlight a new underground Manchester scene gaining national attention, alongside jazz, contemporary classical and more.

Theatre

Closer, riskier, more immediate. Our small-scale theatre picks stretch from unsettling fables about nationhood to the inner workings of a mind trying to hold itself together.

Food and Drink in the North

Spring is here, so sign yourself up for some much-missed al fresco dining at these highly recommended (and mostly new) Manchester restaurants.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science

Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

Tours and Activities in the North

Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.

See all guides