ONE of Scotland’s favourite paintings will heading to the North-East when one of region’s major heritage sites reopens to the public.

The Christ of S John of the Cross by Salvador Dali, which is currently on display at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, in Glasgow, but will be loaned to Auckland Castle, in Bishop Auckland, in 2019.

The painting, which was bought by the City of Glasgow for £8,200 in 1952, will then return to Kelvingrove in spring 2020.

Painted in 1951 and purchased by the City of Glasgow in 1952, the Christ of St John of the Cross continues to be one of the real draws for the million plus people who visit Kelvingrove Museum each year.

It will remain on show at Kelvingrove Museum for most of the school summer holiday period, before coming down in early August, in preparation for its move to the Royal Academy, London.

The painting will be one of the star attractions of Dalí/Duchamp, opening in October. The exhibition will then travel to The Dalí Museum in St Petersburg, Florida from February to May 2018.

Dalí/Duchamp is the first exhibition to throw light on the surprising relationship between the two artistic giants, father of conceptual art Marcel Duchamp and Surrealist Salvador Dalí.

Duncan Dornan, head of Glasgow Museums, said: “Glasgow’s art collection is considered one of the finest in Europe and loaning key pieces increases access to the works so that people across the country and indeed the world can enjoy them, bolstering our reputation.”