COUNTY Durham possesses the largest concentration of Spanish art on public display anywhere in the UK outside London.

How that came about is the subject of an opulent book, Spanish Art in County Durham, produced in partnership between Auckland Castle – home of the famous Zurbaran paintings – the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, which owns works by El Greco and Goya, and Durham University.

Heading the field is the museum where, it transpires, the quantity of Spanish art is due to founder John Bowes' almost "job lot" approach to collecting, motivated less by aesthetic discernment than by his desire to educate the local populace.

Among well-researched and easily digestible essays by fine art experts and academics, the chapter on John and Josephine Bowes as Collectors rather surprisingly states: "Bowes was not genuinely interested in Spanish art.

"If he had been, he would have bought one of the Murillo, Velazquez or Zurbaran canvasses that frequently passed under the hammer".

When a dealer offered him a huge number of Spanish works, Bowes went through the catalogue ticking those he wanted according simply to the titles, choosing religious subject matter, still-life paintings and portraits for instruction purposes.

The couple were acting in tune with a mid-19th century drive to improve the taste of the working classes and saw their museum as "providing a free artistic education for the public".

It has proved a serendipitous approach, helping to create a significant international collection in this part of the world.

The lavishly illustrated book is part of a new concerted move to make this more widely known and serves as the first systematic attempt to assess the range and significance of the collections.

Informative essays aimed as much at the general reader as the afficionado include chapters devoted to Bishop Trevor, who brought the larger-than-life paintings of Jacob and his 12 Sons to Auckland Castle in 1756, and about the input of wealthy stately home owners down the centuries.

As well as the three main centres, the wealth of art ranging from the medieval period to the 17th century is found in Durham Cathedral, Durham Castle and Raby Castle. The university's Ushaw College, a former Roman Catholic seminary, is described as "a hidden gem of national significance".

The final chapter shows work by contemporary artist Jonathan Parker inspired by the Auckland Castle paintings of Jacob and his Sons and a modern-day tribute by Norwegian artist Roar Kjaernstad to Velasquez's Rokeby Venus, which now hangs in the National Gallery.

The book is edited by Clare Baron, assistant curator at Auckland Castle, and Andy Beresford, Durham University professor of Hispanic studies and a leading authority on early Spanish art.

Jonathan Ruffer, chairman of Auckland Castle Trust, who is building up his own collection of Spanish art, writes in his foreword about the new gallery in Bishop Auckland which will complement the established centres.

Spanish Art in County Durham is published by ACT Trading Limited at £16 and is available from Auckland Castle and the Bowes Museum.