Caroline Worthington, York Art Gallery's new boss, tells CHARLES HUTCHINSON of her hopes and ambitious plans for the gallery.

NOT one but two women are settling into prominent positions at York Art Gallery.

The gallery's latest purchase, Jean Abercromby, took up residence in the South Gallery on Friday. Painted by 18th century Scottish artist Allan Ramsay, Jean Abercromby, Mrs Morison of Haddo, cost £625,000, the fee spread between the Heritage Lottery Fund, National Art Collections Fund and Friends of York Art Gallery.

The gallery's second female acquisition of 2003 is curator of art Caroline Worthington, 31, newly arrived in York from Newcastle, where she was keeper of art at the Laing Art Gallery.

"What drew me was the collection, which is fantastic, and I also knew there were plans for re-presenting that collection, and that combination was the prime reason for applying," says Caroline, who succeeds Richard Green after his 25-year tenure.

The gallery's future will be shaped by the Quick Win for York Art Gallery bid, a submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund by the York Museums Trust for £255,000 funding.

The application was made before Caroline was appointed, but unquestionably she - and York too - would be the beneficiary, should approval be forthcoming next month.

The gallery shop would be turned into an education and learning space; the foyer would accommodate a small caf; the main gallery would be stripped, re-lit and transformed into the exhibition gallery (at present housed upstairs).

Caroline would re-hang the South Gallery and Burton Gallery; a new shop would be created in the South Gallery; the foyer and stairways would be re-decorated. All these improvements are much needed, not before time, and to the outsider, far more important to the gallery's health than Ramsay's Jean Abercromby.

You sense the gallery is confident of success. Coincidence or not, the special display of the Ramsay painting ends on January 18, and the gallery intends to close that month for six months if the Lottery bid finds favour. Will it, Caroline?

"My instinct is that we will. I would be devastated if we didn't get the money, and very, very surprised too because the decision will be taken regionally as well as nationally," she says. "The Heritage Lottery Fund gave us a considerable sum of money for the Allan Ramsay purchase, and that shows the support for us nationally."

Perish the thought, but what will happen if the Lottery bid is turned down? "It would be a bit of a body blow, as we would have to go back to the drawing board. We could just re-hang the galleries but that would be cosmetic," says Caroline, who prefers to take a positive attitude.

"If we get the Quick Win funding, it wouldn't stop there. By getting this project, it might lead to something else in five years, such as an extension or a refit. So it would be Quick Win with long-term ramifications."

Quick Win or not, Caroline plans to overhaul the galleries. "It will be a wholesale change," she says. "At the moment, they tell the history of art, and they have done so for a long time. We shall be hanging them thematically - such as landscapes, narratives and portraits in the Burton gallery - giving visitors the chance to see how artists across the century tackled the same theme."

The exhibition programme, meanwhile, will tie in more with the gallery's collections and with potential educational projects.

However, those hoping for more modern art purchases, including work by contemporary York artists, will be disappointed that no change in collection policy is planned.

"As curator I have to look at what makes us special and unique," says Caroline. "Part of the role is about developing a legacy and not having a knee-jerk reaction by trying to make a statement."

Fact File:

Name: Caroline Worthington

Occupation: Curator of art, York Art Gallery

Age: 31

Born: Cheam, Surrey

Education: BA in History of Art, European Literature and Italian, University of East Anglia; MA in Museum and Gallery Studies, Manchester University

Career path as curator: Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter, 1996-2001; keeper of art, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle; 2001-2003; York Art Gallery, 2003 onwards

Teaching: Taught on MA in Gallery Studies course, Newcastle University

Pastime: Exeter City supporter, writing programme notes for the Nationwide Conference club's programme.

Updated: 10:02 Tuesday, October 14, 2003