THE life and work of little-known Harrogate sculptress Frances Darlington is the subject of the Heavenly Creatures show at the Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate until January 11.

Darlington (1880-1939) overcame the obstacles facing female artists in her day to attain major public commissions, such as the sculptural curves of The Stations Of The Cross for St Wilfrid's Church, Harrogate, and a decorative 70ft frieze of drama and poetry scenes for the Harrogate Theatre foyer.

The daughter of a Harrogate solicitor, Darlington studied sculpture in London at the Slade School of Art and the School of Art and Design in South Kensington. Her earliest works were portrait busts and relief panels with religious and mythological subjects, for which she often used her family and friends as models. Her later and best pieces were in plaster relief.

Works on display at the gallery in Swan Road include loans from the artist's family and public institutions, such as the 1905 piece The Little Sea Maiden, from Leeds City Art Gallery, and a model of her 1912 statue of Joseph Priestley (the discoverer of oxygen), designed on a grand scale for Birstall Market Place.

During her career, Darlington exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and the Paris Salon, and in New Zealand and the United States too.

Research for the exhibition was conducted by Matthew Withey, of the Henry Moore Institute, who says: "Sadly, many of Frances Darlington's works have proved impossible to trace but her own photographs of sculptures in her studio will be on show.

"We hope exhibition visitors may be able to identify some of them."

Updated: 10:20 Friday, November 07, 2003