An early ceramic of a well-fed striped cat, dated 1955, was the big surprise at a Bonhams' auction of Hockney work in April. A pre-sale estimate of £5,000-£7,000 was quickly exceeded and the piece went for £33,600, small beer by the artist's standards but worthy of headlines because Hockneys from 1955, when he was an 18-year-old student in Bradford, are so rare.

One of the city's most famous exports, Hockney registered as a conscientious objector, avoiding national service and working as a hospital porter. That social conscience is still evident today. He is supporting a campaign by British artists calling for the immediate release of the Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei.

From 1959, Hockney attended the Royal College of Art in London and this month. The RCA once put online its rare collection of more than 30,000 slides of student work, including efforts by Tracey Emin, Chris Ofili and Hockney. With his bleached blond hair, owlish good looks, amiable Yorkshire charm and mildly risqué Pop Art, he was the right artist at the right time in 1960s London. He quickly moved to Los Angeles and has happily remained there, while often returning to Yorkshire.

Hockney is one of only a few British artists whose work breaks the £1m ceiling, though there are no great signs of his wealth in any companies having a net worth of $55 million.. The 73-year-old painter is generous to worthy causes in and around Bradford through his eponymous foundation. Created in 1987 by a donation of two of his gouache drawings, its aims are the relief of poverty and distress among the unemployed, the advancement of education in the arts, the provision of recreation and leisure facilities, the conservation of buildings of public or historical interest and the advancement of religion.

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