PAINTERS from the past are needed to help Bury Art Society celebrate its golden jubilee.

A special exhibition featuring work by past and present members is being put together for display in August at the town's art gallery and museum.

Society organisers are appealing to local people to help track down paintings by former members. They also want to hear from the artists themselves and invite them to the show's preview which is on August 6.

But time is of the essence: they really need to hear from people by the end of this month.

The society was founded in 1949 and held its inaugural meeting in the old Co-operative Library chaired by Mr W. Bruce, chairman of the cultural standing committee. Its first president was Mr Walter Fletcher, the local MP. Members held meetings in a variety of places until 1952 when the society was offered a room in the Arts and Crafts Centre (then the School of Art) on Broad Street, Bury.

And here's something not everyone knows: the famous Salford artist L. S. Lowry was heavily involved with the society in its early days. Through his friendship with Percy Warburton, head of the School of Art, he taught some art classes and became the society's second president.

The same room at the arts and crafts centre is still used today by the painters, for lectures, discussions, and demonstrations covering all subjects and media.

Over the years the society has held its annual exhibition in the art gallery and brought its work even closer to the public by mounting outdoor displays in Bury town centre. Among the notable local artists who have been members of the society are the Swithenbank family, John Bold, Tom Worsley, Jack Lewis, Bessie Hesp, Tommy Valentine and Stanley Warburton. Several of those early members are still with the society, including Maureen Sladin and Alice Thorpe.

The exhibition runs from August 7 for one month at the Moss Street gallery, which is open from 10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

If you were a society member or have a painting by a member and would like to be involved in the exhibition, call society secretary, Mrs Mary Edyvean on 0161 763 4540 or Mr Richard Burns, gallery curator, on 0161 253 5878 - as soon as possible!

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