MORE than 50 works of art were sold in the first two days of the St Albans Art Society annual show which is back in the Town Hall after a four-year absence.

The 60th exhibition held by the society, it was welcomed back to the Town Hall by Deputy Mayor of St Albans, Cllr Geoff Harrison, who praised the high standard of work and led the applause as four award winners were announced.

Presenting the trophies, president Dennis Owen pointed out that the show also represented a hidden economic benefit to the city, not just in art sales but also in framing services, venue hire and caf� visits.

Acting chairman Peter Osborne said that the art society highlighted the visual richness of the city, particularly through the St Albans Trophy presented by Mary Newbery which attracted 30 entries in its second year.

450 works of art are on display in the Town Hall assembly room which the district council hired to the society at a discount as it was a community event. Peter explained that some of the money had been found from reserves but the society would need to seek grants or sponsorship for future years.

On Saturday, Waterstone’s in St Peter’s Street hosted a Local Artists Day organised by Veronika Brazdova which featured members demonstrating their work and helping children create murals of land, sea, city and space.

The exhibition runs until Saturday and is open from 10am to 6pm with a late opening and bar until 9pm tomorrow (Friday).