Never-before-seen images of punk pioneer Joe Strummer and maverick Hollywood actor Dennis Hopper are to be unveiled at a new exhibition.

The National Portrait Gallery in London is showcasing the work of American photographer William Eggleston, who is said to have inspired film directors David Lynch and Sofia Coppola.

Joe Strummer by William Eggleston
Joe Strummer by William Eggleston (Eggleston Artistic Trust)

Strummer, pictured in 1980 at the height of his fame with rock band The Clash, is shown dressed in a leather jacket and a straw hat, casually drinking with his arms folded.

Hopper, who directed and starred in 1969 cult classic Easy Rider, is shown driving in the outback in the early 1970s. Wearing a cowboy hat and with a cigarette in his hand, he is sat alongside a passenger and is photographed from the vehicle’s rear seat.

Dennis Hopper in 2004
Dennis Hopper in 2004 (Myung Jung Kim/PA)

It is the first museum exhibition devoted to the portraits of Tennessee-born Eggleston, renowned for his images of people in diners, petrol stations, phone booths and supermarkets.

More than 100 works will be displayed at the exhibition, which runs from July 21 to October 23.

Dennis Hopper, photographed by William Eggleston
Dennis Hopper, photographed by William Eggleston (Eggleston Artistic Trust)

Nicholas Cullinan, director of the National Portrait Gallery, said: “William Eggleston makes memorable photographic portraits of individuals – including friends and family, musicians and artists – that are utterly unique and highly influential.

“More than this, Eggleston has an uncanny ability to find something extraordinary in the seemingly everyday. Combining well-known works with others previously unseen, this exhibition looks at one of photography’s most compelling practitioners from a new perspective.”

Curator Phillip Prodger said: “Few photographers alive today have had such a profound influence on the way photographs are made and seen as William Eggleston.

“His pictures are as fresh and exciting as they were when they first grabbed the public’s attention in the 1970s. There is nothing quite like the colour in an Eggleston photograph – radiant in their beauty, that get deep under the skin and linger in the imagination.”