Work from David Hockney’s student show sells for £40,000

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.