David Hockney honoured as University of York marks 50 years

Image caption, An exhibition of Hockney's Yorkshire-inspired landscapes attracted more than 600,000 people to London's Royal Academy

Artist David Hockney has been given an honorary degree as the University of York marks its 50th anniversary.

The university said it wanted to honour people who had made outstanding contributions to Yorkshire.

A show of Hockney's Yorkshire-inspired landscapes, titled A Bigger Picture, attracted more than 600,000 people to London's Royal Academy last year.

Hockney, who lives in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, received the honour in a ceremony a York Minster on Tuesday.

More than 1,200 people attended the gathering at the minster, where the university's inauguration ceremony took place in October 1963.

Other recipients of 50th anniversary honorary degrees were York Museums Trust chief executive Janet Barnes, York Science Park chairman Robert Brech, York Minster master mason John David, and Dianne Swiers, deputy chief nurse of Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust.