A NEW gallery in Herefordshire is offering art lovers the chance to see some of the world's most famous modern pieces for free, including works by Carl Andre, Angela Conner and Heather Jansch.

Canwood Gallery is a non-for-profit gallery set up with the goal of exhibiting thought-provoking art within the beautiful and inspiring countryside of Herefordshire. All profits from the gallery will be donated to Barts Charity, after the gallery's founder survived a ground-breaking trial treatment for non-Hodgkin's Leukaemia at St Bartholomew's Hospital in the 1970s, during which he was subjected to mustard gas, radiation and other trial treatments.

Rare photographs taken by the one of the world's greatest comedy actors, Peter Sellers, will also be going on sale in the new art gallery to help raise money for the British Heart Foundation's [BHF] Nation of Lifesavers campaign.

The personal collection, provided by the Sellers family, includes intimate images of 1960s and 1970s celebrities away from the gaze of public view, from Liza Minnelli and Leigh Taylor-Young to HRH Princess Margaret. The images are for sale and all proceeds will go towards the BHF campaign which aims to train the nation in how to perform life-saving CPR when someone suffers a cardiac arrest.

Lucy Graham, head of philanthropy at the British Heart Foundation, said: "We are incredibly grateful to Stephen and the Sellers family for their generosity, and choosing to support our Nation of Lifesavers campaign."

Canwood Gallery is the realisation of a life-long dream for Herefordshire farmer Stephen Dale, who took on the venture after developing non-Hodgkin's Leukaemia in his thirties. While undergoing a clinical trial in the 1970s for a new treatment at St Bart's Hospital, Stephen visited the TATE art gallery where he saw the "pile of bricks" Equivalent VIII sculpture by artist Carl Andre.

After being the only person to survive his clinical trial, Stephen decided to open his own gallery to provide Herefordshire residents with free access to contemporary art, with Isoclast 07 Graphite bricks by Carl Andre being the centrepiece.

Stephen Dale, owner and founder of Canwood Gallery, said: "I was six stone when I visited the Tate and thought that would be my last outing from St Bart's. Whether art was the reason I survived, or not, I cannot say but I do know that the "bricks" made an impression that stayed with me for the rest of the trial and for the next 45 years of farming. Art should invoke an emotion and I hope that by bringing contemporary art and sculpture to the rural surrounds of Herefordshire that at least one person will be inspired in the same way I was inspired."

The Canwood Gallery is open to the public during the H.Art festival and afterwards by appointment. For more information visit canwoodgallery.com