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Now, a mere three decades later, his ambition will be fulfilled when Watercolour Masterpieces of the Northern Landscape opens to the public.

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The display, in the Leeds former stately home's second-floor Exhibitions Room, includes works by one of Britain's most famous landscape artists, JMW Turner.

Turner painted delicate views of Wharfedale while staying with his friend Walter Fawkes in Farnley Hall, near Otley. All 25 paintings show places in Yorkshire including A View of Kirkstall Abbey (by George Arthur Fripp), Ilkley (by Thomas Girtin) and A Lonely Dell, Wharfedale (by Turner).

Another highlight is Turner's The Valley of the Washburn bought 12 years ago by Leeds City Art Gallery for £200,000 with a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

Mr Lomax, 58, and now curator of exhibitions, said: "It's been a real ambition of mine since I came here in 1977 to get some of our fantastic watercolours on show.

"We've one of the great collections of English watercolours, and a few Welsh ones, but they can only be shown relatively rarely because they're so fragile and sensitive to light.

"I've always wanted to get some of the great masterpieces to be shown here because, of course, the collection also includes those of the Leeds City Art Gallery."

The delicate nature of the watercolours means the exhibition has
actually been split into two parts.

The first half runs until July 19, with the second part featuring another 25 paintings of southern landscapes starting on August 4 and finishing on November 1.

Mr Lomax said: "We're only looking at a period between the lifetime of Turner (1775-1851) and exploring how watercolours have changed during that period."

* Tickets for the exhibition and the house are adults £3.43, children £2.44 or family £8.81.