1,000 works of art hidden away by Staffordshire County Council

Staffordshire County Council owns 1,189 items but in one year only 92 were put on display.

The vast majority of the works relate directly to the county or were produced by local artists.

The authority has stated that most are kept in storage for conservation reasons, however bosses also revealed that they are in talks with other venues throughout Staffordshire about putting more of the works on display.

A Freedom of Information request revealed the hoard includes 115 oil paintings, 263 watercolours and 107 craft jewellery items. The rest are drawings, prints, map and small decorative art items.

The total insurance value of the collection is £82,503.

In 2014/15 a total of 92 items were on display.

A council spokesman said: "Due to their nature and conservation needs, very few items are on permanent display and therefore display is rotated. Items in reserve collections can be viewed by appointment. "

The authority has also directed people to its online Past Track and Gateway to the Past services where all of the items are viewable.

Included among the paintings is artist Chris Sheldon's piece of Stafford's Baswich House which was in the Staffordshire Police Museum until 2007, at the force's headquarters which has moved to Weston Road.

Another striking piece is watercolour painting by Reginald Haggar in the early 1960s of Stafford's iconic Broad Eye Windmill. While the historic Stafford Council is depicted in another 18th Century painting produced anonymously.

Gill Heath, Staffordshire County Council's cabinet member for Communities and the Environment, added: "We update our exhibitions periodically to rotate the works on display and people are able to see other items on request.

"We are currently in talks with other museums and public places in the county about the possibility of exhibiting more items.

"As many of the works are paper and textile items, they can only be temporarily displayed as even low levels of light can damage them over extended periods.

"All our artworks are viewable by appointment, and the entire collection can be viewed on the Gateway to the Past online catalogue and Staffordshire Past Track website.

"In addition, all the oil paintings can be seen at the BBC's 'Your Paintings' website and have been published in the Staffordshire volume of the Public Catalogue Foundation's series of oil paintings in public ownership."