A GALLERY in Stockbridge has opened the first ever exhibition in the south - outside London - of John Lennon's complete collection of artwork.

It is a major coup for Courcoux & Courcoux in the High Street where the exhibition opened on Monday and runs until 12 June.

The exhibition of John's work has been all over the world but this its first visit to England. It has already been seen in London and after Stockbridge it moves on to John's home town of Liverpool and then Brussels.

Gallery owner Ian Courcoux said: "For some time I have been negotiating with an art dealer, who is a very good friend of mine, to bring the show to Stockbridge.

"It's outside the normal show that we would put on because we represent living artists.

"But we felt that since John Lennon was one of the great art icons of the 20th century, this was an opportunity that we had to take up.

"Most art critics argue that he was a very accomplished artist but he did this work for fun basically."

Everybody knows about John Lennon and the Beatles, but the visual arts were his first love long before he picked up a guitar, and he attended the Liverpool School of Art from 1957 to 1960.

He continued drawing throughout his life using pen, pencil or Japanese sumi ink.

The limited editions at Courcoux & Courcoux consist of lithographs, silk screen prints and copper etchings hand produced from original drawings. There are also some original drawings on loan from Yoko Ono which are not for sale.

Many of the pictures are just great fun, demonstrating Lennon's famed wit, but there are some works with a more serious intent - and one of the most moving experiences is being able to listen to Imagine while reading the lyric in his sprawling handwriting.