Lawrence Haward

Lawrence Warrington Haward (7 August 1878 – 18 November 1957) was a noted art collector and writer who was the second Curator of the Manchester City Art Gallery (now the Manchester Art Gallery) from 1914 to 1945.

He was born in Westminster in London in 1878, the oldest son of Amy Cecilia née Nicholls (1857-1938) and John Warrington Haward (1842-1921), a surgeon. In October 1897 he was admitted to King's College, Cambridge, taking his B.A. in 1900 and gaining his M.A. in 1904. He was the Librarian at the University of London (1905-6), and was on the musical staff of The Times (1906–14).

In 1914 Haward was appointed Curator of the Manchester Art Gallery having succeeded William Stanfield, the Gallery’s first Curator. Haward was to hold the post for over 30 years until his retirement in 1945. An "influential and astute collector", under Haward's direction the Gallery went through a period of great expansion which saw five new branch galleries opening across Manchester and the collection tripling in size. In addition, Haward was able to attract important gifts and bequests to the Gallery from noted collectors in the city or from others who had connections with Manchester.

On his retirement Haward moved to Switzerland. He died in November 1957 at the Evelyn Nursing Home in Cambridge and was cremated in that city.

Selected publications Haward, Lawrence. (1956). Edward J. Dent: a bibliography. Cambridge University Press College. Haward, Lawrence. (1948). Music in painting. New York: Pitman Pub. Corp. Haward, Lawrence. (1938). Illustrated guide to the art collections in the Manchester corporation galleries. Manchester Art Galleries Committee, UK Haward, Lawrence. (1916). The effect of war upon art and literature; a lecture delivered at the University of Manchester, February 28, Manchester: University Press