ALTON’S Allen Gallery will play host in April to what could be the biggest exhibition it has ever staged, featuring the work of renowned photographer Jane Bown.

Entitled ‘Alton’s other Jane – Observer Observed’, the exhibition will feature some of Jane Bown’s best work.

Taking place from April 5-28, it is considered a major coup for the town which this talented portrait photographer called home.

A long-time admirer of her work, James Willis believes that with no less than two BBC programmes in March featuring her work, the exhibition will prove a major attraction.

He said: “The same inconspicuous presence that made Jane Bown such a renowned photographer meant that few Altonians, even her own devotees, realised that the Old House in Lenten Street was her family home and that she returned there for her final years.

“In a major coup for the Allen Gallery, April will see an exhibition of more than 50 of her celebrated portraits of the famous, from The Beatles to the Queen, and also several of the not so famous.

“Her wonderfully sensitive and distinctive portraits were published in the Observer newspaper for an extraordinary 60 years and have been exhibited in many prestigious venues and collected in a series of books.

“The core of the coming exhibition will be the collection of pictures from the gallery at her (former) home. They include many of the classic portraits for the Observer, and some more quirky ones, and we can safely assume that they were her personal favourites.

“Her home town’s lovely Allen Gallery is the perfect venue for what will be a glorious celebration for her many fans, but above all it will be an opportunity for new people to discover the brilliant eye for a picture of the gentle genius whose doorstep they so often, unknowingly, passed.”