A PAINTING once owned by Dirk Bogarde, and artworks by Lowry, Lucien Freud, Sickert and Liverpool artist George Jardine form part of a new exhibition which opens today.

Fifty paintings spanning the first 50 years of the 20th century, and all taken from the Walker Art Gallery’s collection, are on show at the William Brown Street venue.

New Radicals – From Sickert To Freud also includes 16 artworks by Merseyside artists, including Wirral-born Philip Wilson Steer, and Albert Richards, who studied at Wallasey School of Art and was an official war artist during World War Two.

The exhibition focuses on some of the dramatic changes in British art in the wake of French Impressionism right through to the period just after the Second World War, and tells the stories behind some exceptional works of art.

Some of the key figures and artists’ groups are explored, such as the New English Art Club and the Camden Town group, as well as some individuals.

Assistant curator Stephen White said: “There are quite a number which have been brought out of storage and have not been seen for a long time.

“The paintings represent a period in time and show what was happening across the first half of the century.”

New Radicals – From Sickert to Freud runs at the Walker until September 20 and is free.

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