It was once voted Scotland's favourite painting and is widely regarded as one of the most famous yet controversial artworks in the world.

Being such an iconic image to boot, it is the envy of the world and once again Salvador Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross will be loaned from its Glasgow home.

Having resided at The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2011 the piece will leave Scotland again this year for the Royal Academy of Arts in London this September.

There it will be unveiled in October and remain in place until the summer of 2018.

It was bought for around £8200 in 1952 and was previously estimated to be worth more than £80m when the Spanish Government made a bid for it in 2006.

The piece has gone out on loan on a number of other occasions before:

Dali's work will be taken from where it hangs in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in early August, with the public encouraged to visit and take in the painting before then.

But what makes it such an envy that has had a request to be loaned out across the globe, and why is it housed in Glasgow in the first place?

The inspiration came from another drawing by John of the Cross which was made in the 16th century.

Dali painted Christ in 1951, and is pictured above with his fresh creation depicting the Crucifixion that was said to have been influenced by him in a dream.

It looms over onlookers in its own special room of the Glasgow art gallery at more than two metres tall and just over a metre wide.

Between 1993 and 2005 it was also moved to the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art near the city's cathedral before returning to its original place.

With its size and significance to Kelvingrove it has not come without its issues having been damaged, yet successfully repaired, on two occasions.

Despite this it was, as previously stated, voted Scotland's favourite painting by The Herald readers in 2005.

Dali was born in Catalonia on May 11, 1904, and died at the age of 84 in his hometown of Figueres on January 23, 1989.

He produced more than 1500 works in his career including an animated short film in collaboration with one Walt Disney. It was eventually restored and released by Walt's nephew in 2003.

A theatre and museum is named after him in Figueres and is one of three named in his honour in Catalonia.

There are also galleries and permanent exhibitions dedicated to Dali in Paris, Berlin, Bruge, Pargas, Florida and California.

His presence in the American states came from his time there during the Second World War with his Russian wife, Gala, with much of their time also spent in New York.

And of course there are individual works like Christ of St John of the Cross in many other locations across the globe including Glasgow.

Dr Tom Honeyman, director of Glasgow Museums between 1939 and 1954, was the man who bought Dali's work at far less than the £12,000 catalogue price.

Even though he paid three quarters of that the purchase courted much controversy - but it was one which also included the copyright of the piece from the artist himself.

Dali was seemingly impressed with Honeyman's defence of the painting and the two remained in contact until Honeyman's death in 1971.

Many have praised the decision of Honeyman in the following six decades since the deal and it is hoped that loaning the artwork out will ensure it returns to Glasgow again and again for many more decades to come.