THE last works of a highly regarded painter are on display at the gallery where she used to work.

Nerys Johnson was curator of the DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery for 19 years, until severe arthritis forced her to give up.

She died aged 58 in 2001, and the paintings she did in her final year are on display in an exhibition which opened at the weekend. It is the first public showing of the work.

A gallery spokesman said: "Although usually thought of as a flower painter, she was not a botanical artist.

"She used the colours and shapes of flowers as a springboard for her creativity.

"Nerys only signed her work immediately before it was framed for exhibition, so gouaches framed for this exhibition are unsigned but they are coded on the reverse.

"Most of the works on show are for sale and all income from sales will go to the Nerys Johnson Contemporary Art Fund to buy work from living artists for public collections."

The exhibition runs alongside 100 Fires, an installation by Jim Harold, artist-in-residence at Durham Cathedral, until October 26.