The Astley Cheetham Art Collection was originally bequeathed to the town of Stalybridge by the Victorian industrialist and mill owner, John Frederick Cheetham, after his death in 1932. The collection comprises over 500 paintings, works on paper and a small selection of sculptures. It is well known as an excellent small regional collection and includes works from the fourteenth and fifteenth century, as well as nineteenth-century British painters such as David Cox and Edward Burne-Jones. The collection has grown with gifts from the National Art Collections Fund, the Contemporary Art Society and purchases by the gallery throughout the twentieth century. Today the art collection is managed by Tameside Museums and Galleries Service and is exhibited mainly at the Astley Cheetham Art Gallery and The Rutherford Gallery. However, certain works from the collection can also be seen at Dukinfield Town Hall and Ashton Town Hall.