'Jack the Ripper' nudes go on show

Paintings of nudes that prompted crime writer Patricia Cornwell to name the artist Walter Sickert as Jack the Ripper go on show in London tomorrow.

The Camden Town Murder paintings, four canvases inspired by the true-life murder of a young prostitute, are among more than 25 paintings and related drawings in the exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House.

The works were produced by Sickert between 1905 and 1912 and revolutionised British art with their uncompromising realism. Curator Barnaby Wright said: "He was influential for Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Auerbach. His approach was to make the nude real again."

Walter Sickert: The Camden Town Nudes runs until 20 January.