A PAINTING by Worcester’s most famous artist will go on show at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum - after being borrowed from the Queen’s Royal Collection.

The Queen has lent the museum The River Llugwy near Bettws-y-Coed by Benjamin Williams Leader from the Royal Collection.

It will be shown as part of the exhibition of Benjamin Williams Leader: Blest by the Suns of Home.

The painting was sold by Benjamin Williams Leader to King George V shortly after World War One broke out.

Today sees the opening of the exhibition showcasing Benjamin Williams Leader becoming an international success with his paintings of the English landscape.

During World War One, these images took on a new emotional appeal with connotations of a landscape worth fighting for.

The exhibition, which is part of the Worcestershire World War 100 project, includes artworks from the Worcester City collection as well as loans from private and public collections.

It will explore how the war impacted the elderly Leader’s life, 83 at the outbreak of war, the reception of his paintings and the country’s relationship with the landscape around them.

Born in Worcester in 1831, Benjamin Leader Williams (later to change his name to Williams Leader) was the son of civil engineer Edward Leader Williams who designed the Diglis Lock.

The young Leader grew up in Diglis House (now Diglis Hotel) attended the city’s Royal Grammar School and painted on the banks of the Severn with his father’s friend the landscape artist John Constable.

He began his career as a draftsman at his father’s firm but studied at Worcester School of Design before going on to the Royal Academy Schools in 1854.

He achieved recognition early in the prestigious Summer Exhibition during his first year of studying, and he exhibited every year until he was 91.

The exhibition is open from 10.30am until 4.30pm, Monday to Saturday, until Saturday June 2.