BRADFORD.- A new exhibition at Bradford Council’s Cartwright Hall Art Gallery is set to look at the early work of David Hockney.

Entitled 'Looking is a Very Positive Act' it will run from October 18 until February 22, 2015.

This free exhibition will showcase Bradford’s unique collection of early works, many from his time at Bradford College of Art from 1953 – 57, providing a general introduction into the early art of David Hockney considering drawing, painting, printmaking and photography.

Included in the exhibition will be the important 'Self-portrait' collage on newsprint, from 1954 that shows Hockney before he became a blond, fashionable social sensation on the London arts scene.

Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council's Executive member for Culture, said: "David Hockney is not just Bradford’s most famous artist but one of the most famous artists in the world.

"In recent years, Hockney has had large sell-out shows in London, Cologne, Bilbao, San Francisco and Los Angeles, with numerous smaller exhibitions taking place throughout the world.

"However it will be fascinating for people to see where Hockney's first works were produced and influenced - right here in Bradford."

Last month, Hockney’s painting ‘My Parents’ from 1977 (in the national collection of Tate, London) was voted to be the nation’s favourite by over 38,000 people for an outside art initiative ‘Art is Everywhere’ which runs at various sites throughout the country from 21 July to 31 August.

David Hockney was born in Bradford on 9 July 1937. He lived in the Eccleshill area of the city and was a regular visitor to Cartwright Hall Art Gallery. He was awarded a scholarship to Bradford Grammar School which he attended from 1948 to 1953 and began his art training at Bradford School of Art which he attended from 1953 –to 1957. From 1959 to 1962 he was a student at the Royal College of Art, London and was awarded a gold medal in recognition of his achievements. He was already receiving commissions and selling work before he graduated. In 1963 he began to spend more time living in Los Angeles. In 2007 after a period of being based in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, Hockney completed and gave to the Tate his largest ever painting to date ‘Bigger Trees near Warter’ (2007) which toured to Cartwright Hall Art Gallery and two other venues in Yorkshire in 2011.

Cartwright Hall Art Gallery is located in the scenic Lister Park in the Manningham area of the city and is run by Bradford Museums and Galleries as part of City of Bradford MDC. Bradford Museums and Galleries runs four other venues: Bradford Industrial Museum; Bolling Hall Museum ; Cliffe Castle Museum, Keighley and Manor House, Ilkley.

Cartwright Hall Art Gallery is the main civic art gallery for the city and is free to enter. Open 10 – 4 Tuesday to Friday, 11 -4 Saturday and Sunday. Closed Mondays (except bank holidays), Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Cartwright Hall houses Bradford's International collection of paintings, prints, decorative art and sculpture as well as work by Hockney and other leading British artists.