THE life and work of the renowned Wensleydale artist Sonia Lawson is to be the subject of a talk at Tennants in Leyburn coinciding with an exhibition of her paintings in Harrogate.

Miss Lawson is the daughter of Dales artists Fred Lawson and Muriel Metcalfe. She grew up in Castle Bolton in Wensleydale and gained a place at the Royal Collage of Art in London graduating with first class honours.

Her childhood was spent with the likes of J B Priestley, Jacob Kramer and John Kirkup, frequent visitors to the family home.

Always destined for success, by the 1950s she had a brilliant career ahead. She was the only woman selected for John Schlesinger’s BBC Television documentary Private View. In 1982, she was elected a Royal Academician, the only artist from the Dales to be so chosen.

The exhibition is at the Mercer Art Gallery opens on November 14 and runs until February. It is sponsored by Tennants, which has a long association with the gallery.

In conjunction with the exhibition, one of her works will be on display at Leyburn auction house where a lecture on the work of the artist will be givne by Jane Sellars, of the Mercer Gallery, on November 26, at 20pm, followed by afternoon tea.

John Duncalfe, a Wensleydale writer of art books and a friend of the artist, said: “ This is a great opportunity for Dales folk to visit a very important retrospective exhibition of paintings by one of their own.

“Paintings will be on loan from major pubic collections, including the Imperial War Museum, the Sheffield Graves Art Gallery and several private collections.

“Her work is very deep, she is a most sensitive and talented artist, whose figurative works have been equated with the early 20th century master painters Paul Nash and Stanley Spencer.”

Entry to the Mercer Gallery is free; for more information or to book a place a place for the lecture, contact Jane Tennant on 012969 621146 .