Hotel adds art gallery to its facilities

10:42am Thursday 8th May 2008

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HOTEL owners in Ryedale branched out into the world of art when they opened their first exhibition of paintings this month.

Tony Finn from the Worsley Arms in Hovingham has transformed the grand Duchess of Kent Room into an art gallery for the display of contemporary work by York artist Malcolm Ludvigsen, which will be on show until May 18.

The Yorkshire Landscapes' exhibition will feature oil canvases of local scenes from the windswept North York Moors, rolling wolds and rugged coastline.

And despite not being a massive art fan, Tony, who has owned the hotel for the past eight years, hoped to bring a bit of colour to an underused space.

He said: "All the pictures are of local scenes and I thought it would be a great talking point for villagers and guests who are interested in the landscape of the area. The paintings have already proved popular and the display is a great way to use a room, which is used for meetings and civil ceremonies. It's a fantastic way to showcase local talents and we hope to host more exhibitions in the future, possibly sculptures."

It is the first time the successful York-based artist has hosted an exhibition of his work in the local area.

And as well as being a dab hand with a brush he is also a professor of mathematics specialising in relativity and cosmology.

He said: "My paintings are all over the place: America, Canada, Portugal, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Australia, Germany and quite a few more places besides. I even sell some in Yorkshire. I probably sell most in America and for some reason my dismal Yorkshire scenes are very popular in Florida."