Wales needs a national gallery of its own, the Conservatives have claimed.

The party called for a new dedicated gallery on Tuesday after revealing 41,826 works of art are hidden from public view.

"The public is being denied the chance to see some of the country’s greatest works of art because of the lack of a dedicated national art gallery," said the Conservative culture spokesman in the National Assembly, Lisa Francis.

The party said the gallery would hold a comprehensive collection and could be based at City Hall in Cardiff.

Currently the Welsh art collection has 45,423 works of art but just 3,597 are on display.

The Conservatives accepted claims by Assembly culture minister Alun Pugh that 32,000 works of art are "not suitable for long-term display" but claimed that still left around 9,000 that could be put on show to the public.

"Most countries have a national art gallery and having such an institution in Wales would be a huge asset in our attempts to promote cultural tourism," said Francis.

"While great strides have been made to make art accessible digitally, there is nothing like seeing the real thing. The public cannot truly appreciate our great works of art if they are locked in a vault covered in dust-proof covers."