Gift is a rare David Hockney cat worth £94,000

The cat is thought to be the world-famous artist's first ceramic creation and, as such, could go for a six-figure sum when it is auctioned next month.

Experts say it could sell for more than the £94,000 one of his other cat sculptures fetched at Christie’s in June.

The rare black-and-white ceramic cat, created by David Hockney in 1955 (Image: Stacey's Auctioneers and Valuers)

That will be a remarkable end to the story which began when kindly couple Peter and Wendy Richards took pity on a pair of students sheltering from the rain beneath the eaves of their house, alongside the A1 in Bedfordshire.

The Richards offered the boys a place to take refuge and dried their clothes before biding them goodbye.

Peter Richards with the black-and-white cat (Image: Stacey's Auctioneers and Valuers)

The two impoverished students turned out to be David Hockney and fellow artist Norman Stevens, who were hitch-hiking to London to see an exhibition.

And Hockney never forgot their kindness, striking up a friendship and later gifting them the black-and-white ceramic cat, based on their own family pet.

Over the years, the Bradford artist also sent the Richards letters, drawings, and screen-printed and handmade greetings cards.

And now the cat, and several other items including a Christmas card and a large ceramic dish, are going to be sold by Essex Auctioneers Stacey’s.

Mr Richards, of Thorpe Bay, Essex, is now in his 90s and decided to sell the cat to benefit the younger members of his family.

Other ceramic cats that have come to market have fetched £40,000 at Bonhams in 2011, and another garnered £94,000 at Christie's in June.

Artists John Loker, Norman Stevens, David Oxtoby and David Hockney at Bradford Regional College of Art in the 1950s (Image: Other)

But a spokesman for Stacey's said: "This cat is the only one with accompanying documentation from Hockney. We believe that the Richards family-owned cat could command a higher value as possibly the artist's first ceramic creation."

The ceramic dish has a guide price of £4,000 to £6,000, but the cat creation has a much higher estimate of £30,000 to £40,000.

All six ceramic felines were created by Hockney in 1955.

The ceramic creation with accompanying documents (Image: Stacey's Auctioneers and Valuers)

Hockney has long had a fascination with cats, and they have been a significant motif in some of his major works.

A letter from David Hockney to Wendy and Peter Richards, featuring sketches of the ceramic cat and dish he gifted them (Image: Stacey's Auctioneers and Valuers)

A drawing of the black-and-white ceramic cat that is on sale separately (Image: Stacey's Auctioneers and Valuers)

The cat and other items can be viewed at The Grosvenor Gallery, 35 Bury Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 7JW between October 9-13 to coincide with Frieze Masters, London. It will also be on view at Stacey’s Auction Room, Great Baddow CM2 7JW on October 21 and 22, before the sale the following day.

For further information, email david@staceyauction.com or call 0789535582.