Hereford Museum and Art Gallery holds a diverse collection of art reflecting the county of Herefordshire and beyond. It has around 270 oil paintings within a collection of around 3,500 works of art, dating from the 17th century to the present day. The museum opened in 1874 and the art collection has been added to gradually over the years through the generosity of gifts or bequests, and occasionally, purchases supported by grant giving bodies. The current policy is to collect work with a connection to the county, though historically, some works of wider relevance were included. The collection includes some notable paintings such as, ‘George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)’ by Dame Laura Knight and ‘The Botanists’ by Joseph Edward Southall. Other notable artists represented include Joseph Murray Ince, Gilbert Spencer, Philip Wilson Steer, John Stanton Ward and Kyffin Williams. A significant body of work by the First World War artist Brian Hatton, a native of Hereford, is preserved here, as well as a group of paintings by the Leominster artist John Scarlett Davis.