This winter the Niagara Historical Society & Museum is offering a chance to discover Niagara-on-the-Lake’s history through local art.

A temporary exhibit called Paintings of Niagara-on-the-Lake will be on display until May 4, featuring works by local names such as Betty Lane.

About a decade ago, the museum showcased an exhibit called The Forgotten Years which held works by many local artists, including Lane.

Shawna Butts, acting curator of the Niagara Historical Society Museum, says the museum acquired 16 paintings from Lane’s family in 2014 — many of which have never previously been shown at the museum.

Butts says the museum is lucky to have so many pieces by Lane.

“A lot of her paintings from that period really highlight a unique time in NOTL history. They offer a kind of insight into a time in NOTL that was maybe a little more quiet.”

Many other residents who tried to capture NOTL in art will be featured as well. RJR Pottery, a trio working with local clay sourced from Queenston and NOTL ponds will also have pieces on display.

Francis Granger, another artist who will be featured, was not an artist by trade, according to Butts. Granger was commissioned by the first curator of the museum to paint unique aspects of NOTL history.

“He certainly had a passion for art,” Butts says.

She thinks residents should check out the exhibit to see what the museum carries in its collections.

“I think a lot of people are shocked by how much artwork the museum does have in its collection. Some people think we’re mostly archives and three-dimensional objects. We do in fact have quite an extensive art collection.”

The temporary exhibition is on display in the main gallery at the museum, located at 43 Castlereagh St. in Old Town NOTL.