No swimming: early works show another side of David Hockney

Few living artists command prices like David Hockney. In 2013, one of his swimming pool paintings sold for $90.3m (£70.3m), and he remains one of the world's most highly valued contemporary artists.

- Dalya Alberge

But on Wednesday a new exhibition will showcase early works that he sold for just a few pounds each.

John Kasmin is the art dealer who recognised Hockney's potential when they met in 1961. At the time, Hockney was studying at the Royal College of Art (RCA), selling works for as little as £5 and, Kasmin told the Guardian, "rarely above 20 quid".

Before setting up his own business, Kasmin began displaying and selling the artist's work from the back room of a London gallery, where the boss did not appreciate them enough to exhibit them properly.

"It wasn't difficult," Kasmin said. "He was popular straight away."