WOLVERHAMPTON.- A new exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery traces the development of the Wolverhampton School of Art and the influential role it held in the advancement of art & design in Wolverhampton. Traced – Art & Design in Wolverhampton 1850-1970 is a new permanent exhibition profiling the success of the art school and its celebrated alumni alongside other key Wolverhampton artists of the time. Early advancements in the provision of art teaching for Wolverhampton workers came with the creation of the Mechanics’ Institute in 1827. Local industrialists provided financial backing but the Institute failed to offer specialist art education to artisans from the local manufacturing industries. More appropriate developments emerged under the influence of leading local figures including Charles B. Mander and George Wallis who organised the country’s first art and manufacture exhibition in Wolverhampto