A NEW exhibition at Fire Station Creative will celebrate a family of esteemed artists who lived in Dunfermline in the 19th century.

The Patons lived near St Margaret’s Cave in a house called Wooers’ Alley Cottage, close to the perimeter of Tesco Fire Station, which inspired several works by the three siblings – Amelia Robertson Hill (née Paton), Waller Hugh Paton and Sir Joseph Noël Paton.

Their art and home – which was demolished in the 1920s – will be paid tribute to in the exhibition, where there will also be a community consultation to restore the Wooers’ Alley garden to its former glory.

In recent years, the area has become a polluted and overgrown anti-social behaviour hotspot, with the hope that restoration would return it to an "airthly paradise", as it was once called by Victorian critic and essayist John Ruskin.

The cottage was opened to the public in the 1850s as a museum by the siblings' father, Joseph Neil Paton, who was a passionate collector of Scottish artefacts.

Displayed items included suits of armour, palace furniture and the toe bone (or metatarsal) of Robert the Bruce.

Sir Joseph Noël Paton became Queen Victoria’s 'Limner for Scotland' and is recognised for his elaborate depictions of fairies and other mythological scenes.

He was also an important contributor to the Pre-Raphaelite Movement and three of his works are on permanent display in the Dunfermline’s City Chambers, one of which, depicting Queen Margaret and King Malcolm Canmore, will be on loan for the exhibition courtesy of Carnegie Dunfermline Trust.

The concept for the display was brought to Fire Station Creative by Cat Berry, a direct descendent of Sir Jospeh Noel Paton, who created 'The Amelia Trail' previously, in celebration of accomplished sculptor Amelia Robertson Hill, who created the world-famous effigy of Robert Burns in Dumfries as well as the large statue of explorer David Livingstone near Waverley Station in Edinburgh.

Ms Berry plans to develop a second 'Paton Trail' for Dunfermline, focusing on the Wooers' Alley site.

You can still view work by the family in Dunfermline Carnegie Library, Galleries and Museum, the City Chambers, and Dunfermline Abbey.

To walk the trail, either visit the Paton Trail website or pick up a leaflet which will be available at the exhibition, which began this week and will be on display until February 26.