Work by student Hockney sold by his tutor's family

An early work by David Hockney created when the artist was just 19 has sold for four times its top estimate at auction two days after his death.

Bolton Junction, Eccleshill, Bradford, is a mixed media piece dating back to 1954 and went to the winning bidder for £40,000 at Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, on 13 June.

The painting had been expected to fetch between £7,000 and £10,000 at the firm's modern and contemporary art sale.

Hockney produced the work while studying at Bradford School of Art. It was auctioned off by the family of Malcolm Riley, who taught Hockney at the college and bought the piece from the student's end-of-year show.

Bradford-born Hockney was considered one of the key figures in the 1960s pop art movement.

Born in Eccleshill in 1937, Hockney attended Wellington Primary School before going to Bradford Grammar School. He later studied at Bradford School of Art.

Francesca Young, modern and contemporary art specialist at Tennants Auctioneers, said it had been a "somewhat poignant honour" to handle the sale of the painting so soon after the news of Hockney's death.

Young said: "Hockney was not only one of the greatest British artists of the 20th Century, but a true Yorkshire icon.

"The picture was a remarkable and rare example of his early work executed when he was still a student in the mid-1950s.

"With the work having been purchased at the college's art show by Hockney's perspective tutor, we had seen considerable interest in the painting in the weeks leading up to the sale, which it well deserved."

The art school later became part of Bradford College.

Young said despite the artist's global success, he had remained a "humble character and a true Yorkshireman, which has endeared him to the people of Yorkshire".

During his career Hockney was famous for his vibrant depictions of Los Angeles swimming pools, portraits, and large-scale Yorkshire landscapes.

His most iconic works include A Bigger Splash (1967), Portrait of an Artist (1972), Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy (1971), and A Bigger Grand Canyon (1998).

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