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One of Norway’s biggest art exports, Ørnulf Opdahl, was in Newcastle this month to launch his latest exhibition at the city’s University Gallery.

Ørnulf is an artist fit for kings, or queens, so highly regarded by HM Queen Sonja of Norway his watercolours appear in her book Resonance: A Journey in Words and Images. The book sees HM’s photography and diaries published for the first time and uses Ørnulf’s paintings to illustrate the beauty of Norway and its ever-changing weather.

The exhibition was launched on December 9 and will remain at the University of Northumbria until February 2006. The distinguished landscape painter has close ties with the North East, where he first exhibited in 1999 during the University Gallery’s Visions of Norway exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery. The exhibition, which later moved to London, also featured Frans Widerberg, Olav Christopher Jenssen and Odd Nerdrum. Ørnulf, who established himself as one of the leading painters of his generation during the 1970s, also has select works displayed at boutique hotel Jesmond Dene House where some pieces are available to purchase.

The paintings are inspired by the landscape surrounding Ørnulf’s hometown on Norway’s west coast. The Sunmore Mountains and nearby fjords and glaciers have always fascinated Ørnulf and his artwork successfully captures their magnificence.

Eric Kortenbach, general manager at Jesmond Dene House said: “It is a pleasure to display the work of such a renowned artist and our guests often admire it. The paintings definitely add to the ambiance of the hotel. They fit in with the surroundings so well, it’s as if they were created for Jesmond Dene House.”

Artwork by other famous artists, including Angela Hughes, Simon Nicholas, Frans and Nicholas Widerberg, Norman Cornish and Paul Gallagher, are also available to view and purchase from the prestigious hotel.

Set in two acres of garden in the heart of Jesmond Dene, the new hotel offers 40 en-suite bedrooms, dining rooms serving locally sourced, seasonal produce by renowned chef and hotel owner, Terry Laybourne, and state-of-the-art meeting rooms and facilities for business. Originally designed by John Dobson the opulent hotel has a remarkable history and includes some fine rooms by Norman Shaw, one of the most eminent architects of the period.