RAILWAY poster artist Frank Henry Mason will be celebrated in a major retrospective exhibition of his work to mark the 50th anniversary of his death.

Called ‘Ashore and Afloat: The Art of Frank Henry Mason 1875-1965’, it is on display at Hartlepool Art Gallery from Saturday, March 21, to Saturday, May 30.

Mr Mason, from Seaton Carew, is also known for his marine paintings and this exhibition will bring many of his works of art together for the first time.

As well as Hartlepool Museum's own pieces, including his sketchbooks, the display will also feature items on loan from institutions and private collectors around the country.

He gave up on a life at sea in 1897 and, despite no formal training, developed his own watercolour technique.

In 1890 he exhibited at the Royal Academy for the first time and from then until the outbreak of war in 1914 he travelled widely, sketching. From 1910 he also started to paint his famous posters advertising the railways.

After the war he was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum in London to paint a large number of studies based on his wartime sketches.

During the Second World War he designed a recruitment poster for the Navy and worked at Leamington Spa on camouflaging with the Naval Division.

He became a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists in 1962 and in 1953 became President of Hartlepool Art Club, a position which he continued to hold until his death in 1965.

Charlotte Taylor, Hartlepool Council’s Cultural Services Officer, said: “Frank Henry Mason was a hugely important artist in terms of both his maritime and his railway poster paintings.

“He was an artist of great quality. His railway posters in particular are very visually memorable and, even 50 years after his death, are still very modern.”