BRADFORD doesn’t seem to get much positive publicity these days.
Through a combination of unjust views from those outside the city and a local authority which hasn’t always made the best decisions, Bradford has not really been seen with its name in lights very often.
So it was great to see that David Hockney’s home city is to honour the artist by opening a permanent gallery dedicated to his work to mark his 80th birthday.
The David Hockney Gallery will be housed in the city’s Cartwright Hall.
“I used to love going to Cartwright Hall as a kid,” Hockney said in a statement. “It was the only place in Bradford I could see real paintings.”
The new gallery will show works ranging from early sketches to well-known paintings and his colourful iPad drawings of the East Yorkshire countryside.
The BBC reported that it will open on 7 July – two days before his 80th birthday.
Cartwright Hall claims to own the largest public collection of Hockney’s earliest work and is converting one of its existing rooms into the dedicated Hockney gallery.
The council-run gallery is owns later works including Le Plongeur, his 1978 pool scene.
Its exhibits will include drawings and sketches from his days studying in the city, many of which, Cartwright Hall says, have rarely been seen in public and never all at once.
Hockney, who now splits his time between homes in Los Angeles and Bridlington (nice combination), is also celebrate at a permanent exhibition showcasing his work in the stunning Salts Mill building at Saltaire.
I love a trip to Salt’s Mill, its combination of great architecture, history, unusual shops where you will always get gift inspiration, great food and Hockney’s spectacular artwork makes it the perfect day out.
Its 1853 Gallery displays a large number of his paintings and a further 49 pictures from his The Arrival of Spring collection are housed in a separate room.
The artist, who was born in Bradford in 1937 and studied at Bradford Art School between the ages of 16 and 20 before moving to London to study at the Royal College of Art, has not always had an easy relationship with his home city.
Three years ago he said he had “almost given up on Bradford” and that a suggestion that the council could sell some of its art collection to raise funds would make him give up entirely.
Hopefully this announcement of the new David Hockney Gallery will bring the too back together and rightfully help Bradford leverage the benefits of its artistic son.
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IT’s not a feeling you get very often.
Sympathy for Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino.
But the Football League’s latest ban and fine on the Italian is starting to look like a witch hunt.
Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey, himself a former chief executive of Leeds United, has pursued Cellino with a zeal which I have not always seen in some of the EFL’s other dealings.
I could understand if Cellino was bringing football into disrepute by continuing antics which brought him the monicker Mad Massimo – sacking a succession of managers, tirades against the fans and generally tilting at every windmill in football.
But he hasn’t. This season has seen him stick with manager Gary Monk and make no public pronouncements and his club has been rewarded by climbing the league to claim a spot in the top six.
It might be linked to the fact that he is said to be negotiating a deal to sell part or all of the club to a fellow Italian investor, but he has certainly changed his habits which began during his 22 year spell as owner of Italian club Cagliari where his sacking of 36 managers earned him the nickname Il mangia-allenatori, “The Manager Eater”.
For non Leeds fans like me, his antics are entertaining but for fans of this great club I’m sure they became rather tiresome.
So I’m pleased that Leeds is enjoying an upturn in fortunes this season as the city needs top division football. You only have to look at what having two top Premier League clubs does for the economy of Manchester.
I’m also pleased to inform Massimo that I did my bit for his club earlier this month.
An old friend who I studied journalism with who now runs a big PR business in London and is a Leeds fan, was visiting so I bought two tickets for the club’s match against Reading.
A day after I’d paid 70-plus quid for the tickets, Martin Allison said there were a couple of spare places in the President’s Suite at Elland Road.
So we joined Martin and our host, entrepreneur Ross Pullan and rather than shivering in the stands with a pasty, we dined on thick roast beef washed down by a decent Chateauneauf du Pape and enjoyed some great conversation with longstanding Leeds fan Ross and his accountant, Neil Gray of Midlands firm Streets.
The first person I saw as I entered the President’s Suite was Leeds United superfan and businessman Michael Michaelson, followed by Edward Ziff of Town Centre Securities and we even had a visit from the legend Norman Hunter, who signed my friend Tim’s programme.
Reading, another top six side, managed by former Manchester United player Jaap Stam (who endured plenty of abuse from the raucous Elland Road crowd) had most of the possession but did little with it and Leeds, despite main striker Chris Wood having to go off after half an hour, ran out 3-1 winners.
“This has been one of the best nights of my life,” said my friend as he stared up at the floodlights, cradling his signed programme.
As my Christmas gift buying testifies, it is not always so easy to make people happy as it is a Leeds fan.
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LAST week’s piece in which I recounted attending the Progeny Corporate Law Christmas night out was followed up with a message from David Reed from the firm.
I thought I had admitted everything that happened on the night.
But it seems I forgot a couple of details, including gatecrashing rival law firm Clarion’s party, dancing on a table wearing a sombrero and falling asleep in iconic Leeds bar Mojo.
I did try to deny it but then photographic evidence was sent by text to confirm it was all true.
I’m spending the next two weeks in sober reflexion and detoxing. I hope to be back, refreshed in the New Year.
Have a great Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful New Year.