A one-off exhibition of pictures of Bermuda, put together by Mr. Tom Butterfield for Heritage Week was the beginning of a project which, five years later, has become the Masterworks Bermudiana Collection, with an estimated worth of one and a half million dollars.

And tonight, a special show, celebrating Masterworks' fifth birthday, and representing what Mr. Butterfield describes as "the piecing together of a visual history of Bermuda'', will open in its own designated space at the National Gallery.

Few would disagree that Mr. Butterfield's dream of gathering the Island's art in one place has become a thrilling reality, for besides some important, if sometimes anonymous sketches and paintings of old Bermuda, Masterworks has also acquired works by such giants as Winslow Homer and Georgia O'Keeffe.

Spokeswoman Mrs. Elise Outerbridge believes that the acquisition of examples by these two artists alone, has placed the collection on a modestly international footing, a view that tends to be borne out by the fact that personnel from the Tate Gallery in London, Yale and Princeton universities have all expressed interest in coming to give lectures in Bermuda.

The anniversary show will feature Works on Paper. Mrs. Outerbridge, who is in charge of curating this exhibit said it was decided to take advantage of the climate-controlled atmosphere and place on show some of their better watercolours, lithographs, sketches and prints. "It was only when we began to hang the exhibition that we realised the full extent of the collection, which is quite remarkable for so short a time. We have certainly come a long way since Tom had his inspired idea,'' she said.

Mr. Butterfield admits that he was initially surprised by the popularity of that first showing of Bermuda pictures. He said: "We held it in the Society of Arts gallery in City Hall and we must have worn a hole in the carpet! Between 700 and 800 people crammed in on the opening night and from then on, an average of 400 people came in every day to see the show. It didn't take long to realise that locals, visitors -- just about everybody -- is interested in learning about the Island and seeing how it looked in days gone by.'' Then an "interim'' show was held in the East Exhibition Hall, when the Banyan drawing by O'Keeffe was first brought, on loan, to Bermuda. "I began to think `this could be permanent''', he said.

Gradually, the idea of "bringing home'' Bermuda art lodged itself firmly in Mr. Butterfield's mind and he discussed his plan with Mr. Bob Lee. Then a Board of Trustees was formed, consisting of Richard Pearman, Bruce Stuart, Ann Smith Gordon, Jackie Harbutt, Graham Pewter, Suzie McKeegan, Andrew Outerbridge, Christopher Marson and Stephanie Comber. The Masterworks Foundation was born.

Space over The Treasure Chest on Front Street was donated by H.A & E. Smith at the nominal rent of one dollar a year. Now they had a home, where pieces could be displayed and gradually, items such as prints and cards were sold. "We had to start out with some junky stuff in the collection,'' admits Mr.

Butterfield, "but it did pad the whole thing out and help to get it started''.

Revenue from the Front Street outlet (where all the staff are volunteers) has turned out to be the largest single fund-raiser. To help swell the funds, Tom Butterfield has run four heroic London marathons, dinners, dances, and car rallies have been held and there have also been generous gifts of money or works of art from the general public.

"We have raised about $100,000,'' he says, pointing out that although the collection has been valued at around a million and a half dollars, not all the works are owned outright by Masterworks, several of them being on loan.

Mrs. Outerbridge muses about the next five years. "We have to make some decisions about future policy. We would like to get more involved now with local artists -- I think we've made the point about repatriating works. We had to concentrate on this at first as we were anxious to get them while they are still available.'' Mr. Butterfield agrees that Masterworks must turn its attention from artists of the past to artists of the present. He said: "We're hoping to proceed with this, but we are not quite sure how to proceed because it could be a sticky issue.'' He is also keen about the catalogue that is currently being prepared, emphasising that he would like it to have an element of human interest, with details of artists' visits here, such as details of where Georgia O'Keeffe stayed and so on. "There has been an incredible list of artists who have visited Bermuda, such as Homer, Andrew Wyeth, Charles Demuth, Jack Bush, Ogden Pleissner, Clark Vorhees, Ross Turner and Albert Gleizes, to name but a few.'' Mr. Butterfield says that they learn more about these artists and the inter-connection between Bermuda and the rest of the art world all the time.

He points out that the picture by Gleizes, a French artist who was one of the pioneers of the Cubist movement, is a view of Government House taken from the old Hamilton Hotel. "This is where City Hall was built and before they Ondaatje wing was added just a few months ago, you could stand out on the porch and see the exact view he was painting,'' he said.

Summing up his feelings about the first five years, Mr. Butterfield says he feels that the collection is beginning to acquire a breadth and scope, with a good mix of styles, influences and media. "You can't just stick with the pretty pictures. It was perhaps tempting at times, to take the easy route on this, but we've tried to meet the challenge of higher standards. I also believe that it is part of Masterworks' job to encourage art in everyday life.

Art has to be part of the mainstream of life, not an elitist thing for just a few, privileged people. And I think we have helped to do that, especially through the schools.'' He pays tribute to the dedicated people who continue to work so hard for Masterworks. "People like Elise Outerbridge, E. Michael Jones, Michael Naess, George Jones, Tom Cullen and George Wardman who have done so much. And all our volunteers, who put in long hours in the shop -- we certainly couldn't manage without them.'' As he stands before the new exhibition, already hung for tonight's opening, the irrepressible Tom Butterfield makes one final observation. "I won't deny we've had our darker moments and some negative reaction but we've also had plenty of help and moral support from a lot of people and we've kept going. We have come through our first five years!'' JUMPING FOR JOY -- Tom Butterfield in celebratory mood as Masterworks Foundation celebrates its fifth birthday at a National Gallery reception this evening.