ONE of the region’s best kept secrets is about to be revealed.

In partnership with the Heaton Cooper family, Brathay Hall Trust will host an exhibition that will showcase the family’s extensive archive of paintings, drawings and works in progress.

The event will be held at Brathay Hall, Ambleside, from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, with rare works on view for the first time.

For 130 years the Heaton Cooper’s have been at the forefront of Lakeland art with three generations of successful artists.

Alfred Heaton Cooper was the founding father of the dynasty and blazed a trail for landscape painting.

His son William, born in 1903, built on the foundations his father had laid and was highly influential and his knowledge and understanding of Lake District affairs ranged from its geological structure to its social issues.

Julian Cooper, William’s son, has become one of the world’s finest mountain painters.

Now Alfred’s great granddaughter Rebecca plays a central role in the Heaton Cooper Studio family business, in Grasmere, selling art materials.

There’s been a long connection between the Heaton Coopers and Brathay Hall Trust.

The national charitable trust was set up in 1946 to provide personal development for young people, particularly those aged under 25 who are most disadvantaged or vulnerable, Scott Umpleby, head of fundraising for Brathay, said the exhibition offered a great opportunity to view the rare paintings.

“It will hopefully also promote Brathay’s work with disadvantaged local young people in Cumbria and throughout the rest of the country.”

For further information about the exhibition, telephone 015394-39777