MANCHESTER.- Manchester Art Gallery is staging the first major exhibition of Ford Madox Brown’s work since 1964. Ford Madox Brown: Pre-Raphaelite Pioneer brings together 140 works from public and private collections to reveal the pioneering role Ford Madox Brown played in the development of Pre-Raphaelitism and explore how the artist’s rebellion against traditionally taught methods led to a completely radical new style. The exhibition’s painting highlights include Brown’s masterpieces Work (1852 – 63) and The Last of England (1852 – 55), which have been brought together for the first time for over twenty-five years. Work, acquired in 1885, was the first Pre-Raphaelite painting bought by Manchester Art Gallery and is being shown alongside a selection of rarely displayed preparatory studies. These epic paintings are unique in Victorian art as they feature social and political themes. Pai