Bolton Art Gallery is the only venue in the North of England to host a touring collection of masterpieces by some of history's most famous artists.

The showcase will feature 20 paintings from artists like Gainsborough, Stubbs, Degas, Hogarth and Hals.

They will be appearing as part of the National Gallery's commitment to make the masterpieces of the National Collection as widely available as possible.

It will be the first time Bolton has hosted such a high profile exhibition. The only other gallery to host it is in Bristol.

Caroline Ashworth, from the gallery, said: "This will be the first opportunity for many people living in this area to see such high profile masterpieces."

The exhibition has been funded by a £97,000 Heritage Lottery grant.

Previous National Gallery touring exhibitions with Heritage Lottery Fund support have led to record attendances at their respective venues and Bolton hopes this visit will be no exception.

This exhibition is called Family Fortunes. It looks at how painters have sought pictorial solutions to some of the problems raised in painting families -- how they represent dynastic succession, the significance of absent ancestors or hopes for future generations.

The exhibition includes portraits and scenes of family life dating from the 16th to 20th centuries.

Five loaned paintings will be among the showcase, including Allan Ramsay's beautiful and tender portrait of Thomas, Second Baron Mansel of Magram with his Blackwood half-brothers and sisters, from the Tate Gallery.

Families of every type -- from aristocratic to peasant -- are included.

The exhibition also looks at shifting attitudes towards the family from the 16th century to the present day.

The sentimental appreciation of children and childish pleasures which emerged in the 18th century is reflected in three English masterpieces -- Gainsborough's affectionate portrayal of his children, The Painter's Daughters chasing a Butterfly; Hogarth's lively The Graham Children and Reynolds' portrait of Lady Cockburn and her Three Eldest Sons, a hymn to loving and indulgent motherhood.

A less optimistic attitude towards family relations is suggested by Degas' portrait of Helene Rouart, in which the young woman is shown surrounded by, and seemingly overwhelmed by, the objects in her father's art collection.

Bolton Art Gallery hosts the exhibition from April 7 to June 24.

It will be accompanied by a video and a 16-page fully illustrated colour booklet priced at £3.