HULL.- The Ferens Art Gallery re-opened this week after a £5.2m refurbishment and celebrating almost 100 years to the day since local philanthropist Thomas Robinson Ferens purchased the plot of land for the creation of a gallery for the city. For the first time a rare 14th century panel painting by Pietro Lorenzetti has been revealed, following a four-year conservation project. It is being shown alongside early Italian Renaissance masterpieces on loan from national partners.

Regarded as one of the finest regional art galleries in the country, the Ferens re-opened to the public on Friday 13 January, at midday, just days into Hull’s tenure as UK City of Culture, when the gallery will also host the Turner Prize 2017.

Over the last 16 months the gallery has undergone the biggest improvement project in its history, which includes a major investment in temperature, humidity and lighting systems across the site. In addition, there is a new, extended café and shop and a brand new children’s gallery. The investment is part of Hull City Council’s £100 million programme to improve the city’s cultural infrastructure and will ensure the gallery can continue to host world-class exhibitions in 2017 and beyond.

Pietro Lorenzetti’s significant gold-ground panel painting, Christ between Saints Paul and Peter (c.1320), saved for the nation when it was acquired by the Ferens in 2013, was unveiled for the very first time. This follows an extensive four-year project to conserve the masterpiece by the National Gallery.

Thought to have once formed part of a larger altarpiece, the 700-year-old panel is Lorenzetti’s only fully autograph work in the UK. It is part of the permanent collection and centre-piece for the opening exhibition ‘Pietro Lorenzetti: Siena to Hull, A Masterpiece Revealed’ which also includes other early 14thcentury masters and contemporaries including Cimabue, Giotto, Duccio and Ugolino di Nerio. On loan from the National Gallery, these works rarely travel and are on display together for the very first time until 23 April 2017.

Curator of Art at the Ferens Art Gallery, Kirsten Simister, said: “Hull has gained something very special. 2017 is shaping new horizons for the gallery. It’s our ambition to work with national partners both existing and new to secure more visual art of the highest quality, strengthening our working relationships, exhibition programme and our collection further.

“Unveiling the Lorenzetti for the first time since its restoration is an incredibly exciting moment for the gallery. The National Gallery has carried out exceptionally skilled and painstaking work in restoring the panel. It’s proved to be an extremely long and demanding technical challenge but the end results are superb.”

Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, said: “The National Gallery is thrilled to play a prominent part in the Ferens Art Gallery’s celebrations for its reopening in Hull’s UK City of Culture. The loan of a group of masterpieces from early 14th century Italy provides an exquisite context for the Ferens’ newly-acquired painting by Pietro Lorenzetti which has been beautifully restored at the National Gallery.”

The gallery also re-presents its outstanding permanent collection with important work by Frans Hals, Canaletto, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Mark Wallinger as well as newly acquired contemporary art and a major bequest by Joseph Wright of Derby.

Sitting side by side with the permanent collection and internationally renowned loans are works from the Ferens’ annual Open Exhibition, selected by Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, Hull-born actress, Maureen Lipman and sculptor, David Mach. Showcasing the creativity of local and aspiring artists, the Open celebrates its 50thanniversary in 2017.

Other major exhibitions and works to be presented during 2017 include Francis Bacon: Nervous System and works by the internationally-acclaimed sculptor Ron Mueck as part of ARTIST ROOMS on Tour. Rembrandt van Rijn’s ‘The Ship Builder and his Wife’, will be the first ever painting by the artist to visit the city, generously lent by Her Majesty The Queen from the Royal Collection Trust. The unveiling of Spencer Tunick’s Sea of Hull commission in April 2017 will provide a further highlight; the event to create the work took place in the city in July 2016 with 3,200 participants taking part in a series of urban portraits, officially confirmed as the largest nude installation ever staged in the UK.

Deputy Leader of Hull City Council, Councillor Daren Hale, said: “The improvements mean that the Ferens is a lighter, more exciting place to visit well as ensuring that the gallery’s wonderful permanent collection and visiting exhibitions are presented in the very best environmental conditions.

“This year residents and visitors will be able to see world renowned master works on display in Hull like never before. Since the beginning of the year we have shown the world what Hull can do and it is now the gallery’s time to shine.”

Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital and Culture, said: “The opening the Ferens Art Gallery is the anchor underpinning Hull's cultural renaissance. The Lorenzetti masterpiece underlines the Ferens' status as a world-class arts venue.

“This opening kicks off Hull's year as UK City of Culture brilliantly and I am delighted to be able to support this hugely important project. It will benefit the whole region and provide free access to some of the country’s finest collections.”

Martin Green, CEO and Director Hull 2017, said: "The reopening of the Ferens Arts Gallery is another exciting milestone in Hull's year as UK City of Culture. Its refurbishment has been done sensitively, creating a wonderful backdrop to the gallery's fine collection and enabling it to host even more great work from other major collections.

“The Ferens is a star attraction for this city's big year and, along with the other art spaces and public realm installations, reinforces Hull's reputation as a must visit destination for visual arts."