A LOST work of art has been discovered at a North Yorkshire school.

John Hart, bursar at Harrogate Ladies College, identified the sculptured panel as being a work of art by sculptor Frances Darlington.

The panel, in the college's library, was presented to the school by former pupils in the early 1900s.

In later years it received little attention and the nature of its origins were lost.

The piece, called Sir Perceval And The Holy Grail, depicts Sir Perceval surrounded by angels as he finds the religious relic.

Mr Hart has seen the panel hundreds of times in school, but it was only when he visited an exhibition of Frances Darlington's work in the Mercer Gallery in Harrogate that he realised its significance.

He said: "It was a series of coincidences relating to the artist's style which led me to believe that the relief in our library might have been a Darlington.

"I'm delighted it is and that a piece of her work which had been lost for so long has been found."

The panel's authenticity has been confirmed by Matthew Withey, of the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, and Jane Sellar, the curator of the Mercer Art Gallery.

The last recorded exhibition of the panel was at the Royal Academy in London in 1907 where it was shown in a catalogue.

It is thought it may have been presented to the school shortly after this.

Frances Darlington lived much of her life in Harrogate and Ilkley in West Yorkshire and studied at the Slade School of Art in London.

The school has no plans to move the panel, which is fixed into the wall, but has installed a perspex cover to protect it for future generations.

Updated: 08:51 Wednesday, March 31, 2004