Warrington Museum & Art Gallery holds approximately 300 oil paintings. Although the majority are nineteenth-century works and relate to Warrington and the surrounding area, others are undoubtedly of national significance. The art collection began in 1877 when a new gallery was added to the existing museum in order to house the work of local sculptor John Warrington Wood. Since then the collection has expanded, largely through the generosity of local people or with the assistance of grant aid bodies, to include paintings by several prominent artists including Luke Fildes, Henry Woods, James Charles, Hamlet Winstanley, Oswald Garside, Jan Van Os and Frank Brangwyn. The Museum continues to add to the collection and there is a current emphasis on collecting modern works in order to expand the range of contemporary art. Outstanding paintings in the collection include 'Flowers and Fruit' by Jan Van Os, ‘Fair Quiet and Sweet Rest’ by Luke Fildes and ‘Between the Tides’ by Walter Langley.