A DAVID Hockney painting that was recently named the UK’s favourite piece of art will return to Bradford this summer.

In 2014 My Parents, a 1977 painting by the Bradford-born artist, topped an online poll of artwork on display in public galleries.

It depicts Hockney’s mother and father, Laura and Kenneth, and was painted just a year before his father’s death.

The painting belongs to the Tate Gallery, and was most recently on display as part of an exhibition in New York.

But in July the painting will come back to Bradford for a limited time.

Almost a year to the day since Cartwright Hall opened its Hockney Gallery, dedicated to the artist’s work and history, the painting will go on display in the gallery alongside a selection of photos of Hockney’s parents from the artist’s own personal album.

It will be at the gallery from July 3 to December 17.

From July 3 to July 7 the gallery will also be displaying David, a 2017 photo of the artist by acclaimed photographer Catherine Opie.

Hockney began his artistic career in the city, and attended the Bradford School of Art. Many of his sketchbooks from his time at the college are on display at the gallery.

The Telegraph & Argus asked Carole Griffiths, lecturer in art and design at Bradford School of Art, why the painting had become such a favourite with the nation.

She said: “This painting brings together a meditative and minimalist composition portraying a domestic interior and inanimate conversation.

“The couple portrays significant values of man and wife and the spaces between them suggest a mutual respect for one another’s position within the home.

“Each item is strategically placed and appears to be selected to represent symbolic references to time lost.

“The objects do not control the painting, they seem to sit to separate the couple from one another both deep in thought in their own worlds. At the same time a slight unrest.

“The image is calm and serene and Hockney’s marks of a restrictive pallet of blues, greens, reds and yellow create a photographic stillness to capture a moment of controlled emotion and perhaps nostalgia.

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“What’s really important about bringing this image to Bradford is that it offers an alternative observation of the relationships between couples. We need to continue to value the skill and media of painting and revisit works from the past for further questioning within the public arena.”

Since it opened, the Hockney Gallery has been credited for an 85 per cent increase in visitor numbers at Cartwright Hall, as well as a huge rise in the number of schoolchildren who visit the gallery.

As well as personal photographs by the artist, the gallery contains examples of his quirky fashion, early sketches and details of his Bradford upbringing.

It also includes iconic paintings such as the famous 1978 pulped-paper work Le Plongeur.