David Hockney honoured with gallery in home city of Bradford

In 2013, David Hockney said he had "almost given up on Bradford"

David Hockney's home city of Bradford is to honour the artist by opening a permanent gallery dedicated to his work to mark his 80th birthday.

The David Hockney Gallery will be housed in the city's Cartwright Hall.

"I used to love going to Cartwright Hall as a kid," Hockney said in a statement. "It was the only place in Bradford I could see real paintings."

The new gallery will show works ranging from early sketches to well-known paintings and his iPad drawings.

It will open on 7 July - two days before his 80th birthday.

Cartwright Hall claims to own the largest public collection of Hockney's earliest work and is converting one of its existing rooms into the dedicated Hockney gallery.

Its exhibits will include drawings and sketches from his days studying in the city, many of which, Cartwright Hall says, have rarely been seen in public and never all at once.

Le Plongeur, from 1978, will be among the paintings on show

The council-run gallery also owns later works including Le Plongeur, his 1978 pool scene.

Cartwright Hall curator Jill Iredale said: "It was important to us that we mark this birthday of one of the world's most significant, influential and engaging artists who just happens to be from Bradford.

"This new gallery will be a place where people will be able to see what inspired Hockney while he was here in the city and engage directly with some of his work from then through to now."

Cartwright Hall is transforming an area that previously hosted rotating exhibitions

A permanent exhibition showcasing the artist's work already exists in Bradford's Salts Mill building.

Its 1853 Gallery displays a large number of his paintings and a further 49 pictures from his The Arrival of Spring collection are housed in a separate room.

Hockney was born in Bradford in 1937 and studied at Bradford Art School between the ages of 16 and 20.

He moved to London to study at the Royal College of Art in 1959 and went on to become one of the leading figures in British art.

He has not always had smooth relationship with his hometown - in 2013 he said he had "almost given up on Bradford" and that a suggestion that the council could sell some of its art collection to raise funds would make him give up entirely.

On Friday, a spokesman for Bradford Council said that proposal was never seriously considered.

In a statement, Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council's executive member for environment, sport and culture, said: "Cartwright Hall is the natural home for a gallery celebrating David Hockney, a son of Bradford and much loved as an artist all over the world.

"It will be so exciting to view his early work gathered together so we can see what initially inspired him and how his work developed over the years.

"This permanent gallery will boost Cartwright Hall's status as 'must-go-to' destination for visitors to the district and for all Hockney lovers everywhere."

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