A COLLECTION of artwork by patients at a notorious Scottish asylum in the late 1800s has gone on display.

The paintings were created by patients being treated by pioneering physician Dr William Browne at Crichton Royal Hospital in Dumfries.

The doctor believed that art, music and literature could be therapeutic for people with mental illnesses.

The show, A Hidden Gem, runs at Gracefield Arts Centre until August 22.

Gracefield's arts officer Dawn Henderby said: "The artwork is delightful in so many ways - fresh and lively with none of the constraints of preconception of what art should be.

"The idea of 'outsider art' has become more common place today, but in the 1880s, Browne's ideas were ground-breaking."