Bermuda National Gallery -- until July 15.

Anyone wondering about the `seeing is believing' evidence of the historical progress made by women in this heritage month, could hardly do better than to take a walk around Masterworks' latest show, Ladies in Painting.

Despite the unfortunate title, which simply perpetuates the image of little old dears dabbing a few desultory hours away, this is one of the most fascinating local shows seen in a long time.

Art exhibitions are almost always more successful when curated by professional artists (another example of what should be routine policy, is Graeme Outerbridge's superb curating of John Kaufmann's current exhibition) -- a sensible ploy all too often ignored in our artistic circles.

In this case, Masterworks invited two working artists whose professional credentials are beyond reproach and who are well qualified to separate the gold from the dross. Diana Amos and Sheilagh Head have succeeded in their mission, which was to link some of the paintings in the Masterworks collection with other works of art by women artists who have, or still are, working in Bermuda. Not only have they gathered together what they admit is an eclectic collection, they also managed to assemble works that reflect the strongest attributes of those artists selected.

The result is a happy blending of the old and the new, and a striking demonstration of how those early, faltering days -- when watercolour painting was a requisite accomplishment for ladies of refinement -- gradually gave way to tentative experiments in oils, culminating, within the last 30 years or so, in real artistic accomplishment in a variety of media.

The show is also attractively hung, the only discordant note being some carelessness by whoever was responsible for labelling the works.

The spectacular impact of the exhibition is set with the centrepiece oil painting at the top of the staircase. `Irene in the Garden', by Norma Christensen, and an artist whose work we see too little of, is a brilliant study of sunlight bouncing across the tops of garden blooms. It is a rare colourist who can complement oranges and pinks as she has.

One of the entirely unexpected problems in reviewing this show is the realisation that it is almost impossible to pick out favourites. Just about every work, be it painting, etching or sculpture, is a pleasure to look at.

An undoubted bonus is the opportunity of viewing sculpture by the late Byllee Lang, in this instance, an exquisite plaster Bust of a Young Man of tousled hair and classical profile. Other sculptures include a delightful study, by Vivian Gardner, in reconstituted stone of a baby boy, which captures the uninhibited, carefree movement of infant limbs. Another outstanding piece is Elizabeth Ann Trott's small, but wonderfully lively bronze, `And Still I Rise', depicting a dancing girl, playing a fiddle as she jigs along her way.

Then, of course, there is the strongly realised bronze study of a Rooster by Florence Fish, placed appropriately near a spectacular 13-colour screen print by her now famous artist daughter, Janet Fish. Entitled Waimea, this still life of a vase of extrovertly large flowers is absolutely alive with myriad colours which, in her skillful hands, positively sing with their celebratory sense of joie de vivre .

Going back in time somewhat, there are some period gems on these walls, not least of which is F.C. Sims' brilliant little watercolour of a Cave at Ireland Island. Believed to be the sister of a Royal Navy admiral, Miss Sims captured for posterity this ancient, arcane cave pool fringed with glittering stalactites, just a week before it was blown away in 1834 to make way for the new Dockyard. Epitomising the charm -- and genuine ability -- of some 19th century female painters is Claire Shuttleworth, who employed watercolour, pastel and pencil for her lively study of a St. George's street. Believed to have been painted around 1895, it evokes the camaraderie of everyday life in the old town, at a time when women (and even the children, seen playing in the background) had to suffer Bermuda's relentless sun in long, dark clothes and cumbersome hats.

Another treasure is Elizabeth Howard's animated miniature of `The Wreck of the Pollockshields', viewed from the safety of a sandy cove.

The strength of the contemporary works lie in the affirmation that Bermuda's art scene has a great deal more to offer than `shop' art: take the opportunity to study such arresting works as the talented Cynthia Kirkwood's Abstraction of wind-blown trees, the humour of Elizabeth Muldgerig's Ruth with Birds of Paradise, the painterly colours of the late Gillian Ingham, the stately figures of Sharon Wilson's Women at the Beach, the jewel-like colours of Helen Daniel's Cabbage Patch, the exotic still life composition of Margaret Downing Dill's Chinese Fish, the delicate etching of Dana Cooper's Rubber Tree miniature, a magnificently brushed self-portrait in oils by Diana Tetlow.

These are just some of the works that spring to mind -- others on view are equally rewarding.

This show, hugely enjoyable from both an historical and artistic standpoint, is one that should not be missed.

PATRICIA CALNAN