FIFTY years since it received the Royal seal of approval one of the nation’s finest regional art galleries celebrates in style.

Abbot Hall at Fifty is the highly regarded Kendal gallery focusing firmly on its own collection of treasures - and its artistic director Helen Watson and collections manager Nick Rogers had the difficult task of selecting what to show.

It was a tough call to narrow down a selection from the gallery’s extensive and revered range of art chosen by the public, artists and supporters, but Helen and Nick pulled it off.

Explained Helen: “The exhibition presents us with great opportunity to let Abbot Hall’s impressive permanent collection take centre stage. In the last 50 years the gallery has amassed one of the greatest collections of art in the north of England and the people of Kendal should feel very proud of what it has on its doorstep.”

On show will be modern landscape paintings and works on paper by Sutherland and Lowry, items by Ben Nicholson, Andy Goldsworthy and Paul Nash, and 18th and 19th Century landscapes by artists such as Turner and Edward Lear Sharing the spotlight will be pieces from the gallery’s strong collection of 20th century figure paintings and portraits, with significant works by Stanley Spencer, David Bomberg and Kurt Schwitters.

In recent years Abbot Hall - under the umbrella of Lakeland Arts Trust - has been active in adding contemporary British works to its collection by Bridget Riley, Paula Rego, Richard Wentworth, Tony Bevan, Sean Scully and Celia Paul. There is also a growing collection of artist’s prints which will grace the gallery walls for the exhibition, including etchings by David Hockney, Paula Rego and Lucian Freud.

Abbot Hall was built in 1759 by Colonel George Wilson, the second son of Daniel Wilson of Dallam Tower on the site of the old Abbot’s Hall, which stood roughly where the museum is today.

Two centuries later the town’s most prestigious address was becoming dilapidated and a local group led a campaign to restore it as an art gallery.

In 1962, Princess Margaret opened Abbot Hall Art Gallery, now known for high-profile exhibitions and an enviable collection representing 400 years of the very best of British art.

The first director, Helen Kapp, set things on a course that is still broadly followed today; Mary Birkett followed on from 1967-86, staging exhibitions of legendary status and Vicky Slowe, was director from 1986 until 1993.

Edward King picked up the gauntlet in 1994 putting Abbot Hall in the national spotlight with exhibitions such as Lucian Freud, Bridget Riley, and Paul Rego.

Since 2010 Gordon Watson has been at the helm, who, along with his visionary team, aims to build on its previous successes and open a new and exciting chapter in the gallery’s history.