AN EXHIBITION of work by major British sculptors will be held at Huddersfield Art Gallery.

From September 6 to October 25, the gallery will host the From Object To Idea exhibition.

The news comes as the future of the library and art gallery building remains uncertain, after Kirklees Council's Cabinet agreed to engage specialist consultants to look at plans to redevelop the heart of Huddersfield.

These could include demolishing and replacing the building, together with Queensgate Market and its neighbouring multi-storey car park.

The steel frame of the library and art gallery building is rusting away and repairs would cost £3m to £5m. The cost of a replacement could be up to £25m.

Opposition has been voiced to demolishing the building, which is regarded as a fine example of "stripped classical" architecture and is one of the town's best 20th century buildings.

The exhibition will show pieces from the national Arts Council Collection.

They will include works by Castleford-born Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth - who was born in Wakefield and whose centenary is being celebrated this year - Eduardo Paolozzi and Ian Hamilton-Finlay.

Work by Kenneth Armitage, Elizabeth Frink, William Turnbull, Stephen Gilbert and Barry Flannagan will also be on show.

Work from Huddersfield Art Gallery's own collection will be exhibited - including the Henry Moore piece Fallen Warrior.

All the pieces were created between 1953 and 1978.

The exhibition explores the story of 20th-century British sculpture and how art reflected the social and political concerns of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

It also charts sculpture's move from traditional styles to a modern, abstract look.

The gallery's curator, Robert Hall, organised the exhibition with the Culture Company, a public sector body that commissions artists and organises exhibitions from its base at Huddersfield Media Centre, Northumberland Street.

Mr Hall said the "very high quality" exhibition was being held to promote the new location of the Arts Council's collection at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park at West Bretton, near Wakefield.

He added: "It helps us boost our collection. We have some sculpture, but not a large amount."