Hockney objected to the sale

Mr Nelson said he was delighted with his purchase - especially since Hockney had objected to the sale because he considered the drawings a novelty.

"I am absolutely delighted with it - I would have paid an awful lot more," said Mr Nelson.

He continued: "I think it is a real work of art and the very fact that Hockney tried to prevent its sale just says so much about the artist and his approach to this work."

Mr Nelson said the blind will now form the centre piece of his planned museum of modern and contemporary art in Keswick, Cumbria - but it could have been quite a different story.

Aside from Hockney's dismissal of his work and its sale, the blind was nearly thrown away by the current owner, Amanda Gresham.

Ms Gresham bought the house in Bridlington containing the blind from Hockney's sister Margaret in 1991. She had never heard of Hockney and assumed the rolled-up blind was rubbish.

'Not worth anything'

"I was converting the house back to its Victorian state when Margaret and her partner came round to pick up some letters," said Ms Gresham.

"I was actually up the ladder taking the blind down because it was the day the rubbish bin came. I asked her about it and she said her brother had done it and it was probably not worth anything. I didn't know what she meant because the blind had been rolled up all the time."

"When we rolled the blind out we realised there were all these pictures stuck to it."

The five sketches had been faxed by Hockney to his sister. Ms Gresham discovered David Hockney was a famous artist when she asked a neighbour.

But other Hockney memorabilia did not survive the clear-out. Several signed photographs of his work, a number of his paintbrushes and a rug splashed in paint had already been thrown away.