David Hockney's The Diploma, a satirical piece created in protest of the Royal College of Art, will sell as part of Bloomsbury Auctions' Modern & Contemporary Prints sale in London on July 27.
 Hockney of course went on to become one of Britains best-selling artists, with the record for his work set at £5.5m ($8.4m) in 2009 |
Valued at £12,000-18,000 ($18,496-27,744), the piece was created after the artist ruined his chances of graduating from the college in 1962, having refused to write an essay to complete the course.
Instead, he made his own diploma using the official crest of the college, with "Diploma" scrawled beneath.
"This was Hockney's way of sticking two fingers up at the establishment after he wasn't allowed to finish his final year," commented Bloomsbury's Ross Thomas.
'He believed that his work was more important and relevant than an essay, which he refused to write. His response was wonderfully satirical. He produced his own diploma, poking fun at the very teachers that refused to pass him."
There were just 50 copies ever produced, with this example being number 17 of the edition.
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