World's 'largest art show' kicks off across the UK

The 1888 pre-Raphaelite painting, The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse gained the top spot Credit: Rui Vieira/PA Wire

Artwork will be showcased across tens of thousands of UK poster sites in what is said to be the world's largest art show.

Art Everywhere will see art plastered around billboards, bus stops, railway stations and shopping centres for a fortnight.

More than 50 pieces were chosen by the public to feature in the show and ranked in order of popularity.

A 19th century masterpiece by John William Waterhouse, The Lady of Shalott, has been ranked as the nation's favourite art work.

The highest-placed Turner Prize winner is Chris Ofili whose No Woman, No Cry is at number 25

The top five pieces were:

Gordon Brown walking past John Singer Sargent's 1919 painting, 'Gassed' Credit: Leon Neal/PA

Pop art pioneer Sir Peter Blake launched the exhibition by unveiling a poster-sized copy of his work The Meeting Or Have A Nice Day Mr Hockney on an outdoor billboard at the Westfield Shopping Centre in London.

The work - which features a self-portrait of the artist - was ranked at number 55 in the list of favourites although Sir Peter saw his sleeve for the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 14th place.

J.M.W Turner's 1838 oil painting 'The Fighting Temeraire' Credit: Tim Whitby/PA

The upper reaches of the list are packed with familiar names such as Freud, Sargent and Whistler, with Turner's The Fighting Temeraire - painted in 1839 - the oldest work in the top 10, while Cornelia Parker's 1991 sculpture, Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View, the most recent.