Shirley Hughes (pictured) has credited the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool as one of her key sources of artistic inspiration as a child growing up in the Thirties and Forties in nearby West Kirby (in her autobiography A Life Drawing, published by Bodley Head). Now she has a key role in the Walker’s new children’s gallery which opens in March. The “Big Art for Little Artists” section features a story zone in which children can listen to recordings of Hughes reading her poems, as well as see short films which bring to life narrative paintings at the Walker including the most famous work in the collection, And When Did you Last See your Father? by WF Yeames. See www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk closer to opening day (March 31).