Manchester (UK): Sirens will lure arts lovers to gallery

Sirens will lure arts lovers to gallery

AN ART "masterpiece that has not been on display for more than a century is being restored in public.

The Sirens and Ulysses is believed to be one of the greatest works by Yorkshire-born William Etty - yet it has been gathering dust for more than 100 years at Manchester Art Gallery.

The painting was unveiled at the Royal Academ in 1837. It depicsts Ulysses, hero of Homer's great poem The Odyssey, lashed to the mast of his ship to resist the Sirens who would lure him to his doom.

Now gallery staff have decided to re-hang the 4.5 m long picture an restore it during opening hours while visitors watch.

The project is expected to take around a year and will see a treasure believed to be worth hundreds of thousand of pounds returned to its former glory.

Gallery curator Andrew Loukes said: "Etty was a very imprtant artist. He was a great contemporary of Turner and Constable but was forgotten about when his art was just not seen as fashionable. This painting was one of his most significant works."