KEIGHLEY'S acclaimed school of art will be in the frame at an event next month.

It's the subject of a presentation by Colin Neville, curator of the Not Just Hockney website.

Mr Neville will outline the history of the school, from its origins in the old Keighley Mechanics Institute – founded in 1825 – to its demise as an independent institution during the 1950s.

And he'll provide illustrated profiles of some of the most successful artists associated with the school – including Silsden-based Jack Clarkson, Dorothy Wade and Augustus Spencer, as well as artists from Keighley and Haworth, such as Joe Pighills, Frances Watson Sunderland, Annie Hugill, Frank Roper, Allan Laycock, George Demaine and Alex Smith.

The presentation takes place at the latest meeting of Keighley and District Local History Society, upstairs at the town's library on Wednesday, July 10. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Mr Neville says: "Keighley School of Art – later Keighley School of Art and Crafts – was regarded as one of the most progressive and successful in the West Riding of Yorkshire, largely because of the strong-minded and talented people involved in its history and development.

"That included people like Walter Smith, the first head of the school, who was a passionate advocate for the role of art in the lives of ordinary men and women; mill owner Sir Swire Smith, an art lover and philanthropist; Tom Butterfield, who as its head successfully steered the school through the last years of the 19th century and into the 20th; and Alfred Rodway, school principal from 1927-1939, another committed and determined character who oversaw a big expansion of craft courses."

As well as the presentation, a selection of Mr Neville's books on artists will be available to buy. They cost £5, cash only.

The meeting is in the local studies library at Keighley Library, in North Street.

Doors open at 7pm, the meeting starts around 20 minutes later and the presentation will begin at 7.30pm. The meeting will finish at about 8.30pm. Anyone arriving after 7pm should use the library side entrance in Albert Street.

Admission is £3.50, or free to society members.

People wishing to join the society can pay in cash on the night. Membership for the rest of this year is £15, or £20 for a couple living at the same address.

Society members also have the option of joining the meeting via Zoom.