A new David Hockney Gallery has opened – just days before his 80th birthday and in the city where the artist was born.
Curators want visitors to the gallery, in Bradford, to be inspired by “what this local boy has achieved”.
One of the works on display, created in 1974, was the work of Hockney’s dad.
Hockney’s father Kenneth made the piece, which says “art is fine practice makes perfect”, while visiting Cartwright Hall, which is home to the new gallery.
The gallery also features family photographs from Hockney’s personal albums, shown for the first time.
Early sketchbooks, a large collection of work from his time at Bradford School Of Art and two of his most famous series of prints – Blue Guitar and A Rake’s Progress – are among the items on display.
Curator Jill Iredale said the exhibition shows the “incredible early years of Hockney’s work in the immediate context of his family and surroundings, something only truly possible… in his home city”.
She added: “It has been fascinating to look closely at the work Hockney created whilst still living in Bradford.”
Bradford Council chief executive Kersten England said: “An incredible artist with decades of work to his name, we are immensely proud to call David Hockney one of our own.
“It is our hope that this new gallery will inspire people in Bradford and beyond – especially young people who feel like they may have something to offer creatively – to take inspiration from what this local boy has achieved.”
Hockney’s landmark birthday on Sunday will also be marked with free events in the city – including a Hockney disco inspired by his remark: “I hate background music… I only like music in the foreground.”
Actors will also portray Hockney during five periods of his career.
Now living in Los Angeles, Hockney was born in the Eccleshill area of Bradford on July 9, 1937 and attended Bradford College Of Art before going on to study at the Royal College of Art.
Tate Britain’s Hockney retrospective earlier this year received more than 478,000 visitors – making it the most popular exhibition held at the gallery.
It featured famous works of the 1960s and 70s as well as his celebrated images of the Yorkshire landscape and Hollywood hills.
