Classic pieces of Lowry art will be available online following the first stages of a computer database being set up by an Ilkley firm.

iBase Image Systems is putting together a database for the Lowry gallery in Salford containing thousands of pictures and documents chronicling the artist's work.

The first stages will see the virtual gallery confined to visitors to the museum but the eventual hope is to put the whole archive online and enable people to browse and learn from the comfort of their home.

Bob Hamilton, research and development director for iBase, said: "It's a bit of a slow process because the project is very design led.

"The first stage of the project called Meet Mr Lowry was completed in May and involved a virtual tour of the paintings, correspondence and drawings.

"The second phase is much larger, a database of very high-resolution scans of Lowry works and documents such as letters and Press cuttings.

"Hopefully this will all be going online so people can access it from anywhere."

The system is designed for educating children and students and well as anyone with a general interest in the artist who is chiefly renowned for his 'matchstalk' figures inhabiting the grim, industrial streets of his native city.

Lindsay Brooks, curator of the Lowry gallery, said they wanted to make the collection as widely available as possible and give people more of an insight into the man.

She said: "Using the most up-to-date digitisation and databasing methods, we will be able to provide long-distance access to these works.

"The system handles not only the paintings, but correspondence and other papers relating to Lowry's life and work.

"Once the second phase is complete this will be a rich resource for anyone with an interest in art."

iBase has developed image databases for a number of high profile companies including the British Library, The Wellcome Trust, One-2-One and the Guildhall Library and Art Gallery.