As diverse as their region, over 2,000 paintings from 34 public collections are recorded in this volume. These collections vary from distinguished Old Masters at Compton Verney and the Herbert Museum and Art Gallery, Coventry, to local history in Bedworth and Solihull. Naïve paintings by often anonymous artists record the life and times of towns, villages and countryside, depicting coalmines, pastures and woods. More renowned artists record the history of the motor car, the industry at the centre of the region for 100 years. The collections of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford are unique in their dedication to Shakespearean theatre, while two university collections bring the art of the region up to the minute.