ARTIST Roger Smith will be bringing Newport's pictorial history up to date after winning a commission to add to the city's famed murals.

He is due to start work on the walls in the reception area of the civic centre this spring, nearly four decades after Hans Feibusch completed his magnificent murals. They tell the story of Newport from its Roman and Celtic origins until the early 1960s. Mr Smith's work will paint a picture of the city from then until 2002 - the year it became a city.

His concepts deal with Newport's retail, industrial, sports and leisure scenes. The city council decided to consider the possibility of the new murals after saving £25,000 out of its £250,000 budget during Millennium year.

And it was decided to make the idea a reality following the visit of the Queen during her Golden Jubilee year and the announcement of city status.

Public art organisation Art Works Wales was appointed to manage the process, and three artists were chosen to show their designs to council leaders.

"There was quite a lot of interest, but mural painting is quite specialised," explained project manager Mererid Roberts.

"This was a very high- profile and prestigious competition and the artists were very keen to get it."

Mr Smith was chosen after it was decided his proposals closely aligned with the existing Feibusch artwork.

She said the walls have to be prepared before he can begin work, but he hopes to get under way in March and expects to take five months to complete the murals.

Mr Smith, a former teacher, lives in Surrey. His work includes a commemorative panel for the Thames Millennium Festival, commissioned for the Environment Agency.

The Feibusch murals have recently undergone painstaking restoration work to preserve them for posterity and are said to rank among the finest civic art in Europe.

Feibusch, who came to Britain to escape Nazi persecution, worked with his assistant, Phyllis Bray, to create the series between 1961 and 1964.