THE Burrell Collection has loaned artworks to be shown for the first time in London.

Working with the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation, the exhibition Joseph Crawhall: Masterworks from The Burrell Collection will be shown from February 4 to March 12.

The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see 23 of the finest works by one of the country’s most accomplished yet lesser known artists, Joseph Crawhall.

During his lifetime Crawhall exhibited alongside Degas and Whistler, the latter declaring of the English-born artist: “I believe Crawhall to have been the truest artist of the Glasgow men, and, as far as I know, the best in England.”

With more than 140 works by Crawhall at the Burrell Collection, this is the first time in 25 years that works by the artist, on loan from the Burrell, will be seen in London.

Sir Angus Grossart, chairman of Burrell Renaissance, said: “Even amongst contemporaries including Sargent, Whistler and Lavery, the sheer quality and strength of works by Joseph Crawhall acquired by Sir William, is an example of this great collector’s passion and acumen.”

Director of the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation, James Knox, added: “Joseph Crawhall’s work will come as a revelation.

"His dazzling paintings are testament to the artistic ferment of the 1890s with their emphasis on beauty, technique, design and dandiacal subject matter.

"His work can be seen as the pictorial equivalent of the brilliant wordplay of Oscar Wilde. It is a great privilege to introduce his work to a wider public, fulfilling one of our Foundation’s key goals of furthering the understanding and fame of Scottish art outside Scotland.”

There are more works by Joseph Crawhall in the Burrell Collection than by any other painter.

Although born in Northumberland, Joseph Crawhall has always been identified as a leader of the radical group of young Scottish painters the Glasgow Boys, which revolutionised landscape painting in the 1880s.

Councillor Archie Graham, chairman of Glasgow Life, said: “The Burrell Collection is an international flagship for Glasgow, and this is a wonderful opportunity for us to share the works of one of our much-loved artists, Joseph Crawhall, with a wider audience.

"As The Burrell Collection embarks on an innovative programme that will transform it into an exemplar of a 21st century museum, we look forward to many more opportunities to share our city’s great collection.”