A Moray community is celebrating the safe return of some much-loved local artwork.
The three oil paintings by Burghead artist John Smillie had hung on the walls of the village’s Bank of Scotland building for several decades.
The venue fell into disrepair in recent years and when it was forced to close earlier this month there were fears the images might be lost.
However, the pictures have now been reunited with other popular examples of his work and have gone on display in the local community hall.
The move has been welcomed by Burghead couple Janet and Patrick Glendinning, who spent more than 23 years cleaning the former Bank of Scotland building on Grant Street and were concerned the pieces might be lost to the village.
Mrs Glendinning said: “I just asked if the bank would be good enough to gift the paintings to the community.
“I understand there was a lot of red tape involved, and the bank staff had to go to management in Edinburgh for approval, but thankfully it was allowed.
“The paintings are lovely, and they may not be highly valuable in money terms but to the people in Burghead they are worth a lot.”
The community hall was formerly a church, and when its windows were covered over in the late 1970s Mr Smillie volunteered to paint the interior panels.
His works, which depict coastal scenes such as dolphins leaping, remain on view to this day.
Manager at the Elgin Bank of Scotland Nicola Thomson handed the pictures over to community hall secretary Jenifer Christison on Tuesday evening.
Ms Christison said: “I’m very pleased the paintings have been given to the hall, it’s really nice to have a few more of John Smillie’s works to add to his paintwork on the windows here.
“I would have been worried they may have been thrown out otherwise, so I am glad they’re staying in the village.”
John Smillie moved to Burghead in the 1960s after he retired.
He spent his working life in mine engineering, but his passion was painting and he spent the best part of four decades capturing the unique local landscape around the village before his death in 2001.
Many Burghead residents still have John Smillie originals in their homes.
Burghead’s Bank of Scotland closed to customers on Tuesday, May 12, and a mobile banking service was put in place.
