David Hockney’s print market in 2025 is no longer a footnote to his paintings; it has become a mature collecting category in its own right. Over the past decade, turnover in his hand-signed prints has risen more than fourfold — from roughly $1.66 million in 2015 to over $9.2 million in 2024, even after the wider market cooled from a 2023 peak near $17.9 million.
At the centre of this ,majot shift towards prints is The Arrival of Spring — Hockney’s luminous iPad-based landscapes of Woldgate and Normandy — supported by the Yosemite suites and his wider iPad practice. Today, these works stand at the intersection of recognisable subject matter, institutional strength and sustained market performance.
A Landmark Moment: London’s Dedicated “Arrival of Spring” Sale
A key turning point came in October 2025, when Sotheby’s London presented a dedicated auction of 17 works from The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire (2011). The sale achieved approximately $8.35 million USD with a full 100% sell-through, surpassing even the most optimistic expectations.
The standout print,
The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire, 19 February 2011,
reached about $1.02 million USD, more than four times its estimate — a level rarely seen for editioned works by a living artist.
The results reflected several converging forces:
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Small edition sizes (typically 25),
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Sustained museum visibility over more than a decade,
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And a compelling narrative around Hockney’s reinvention of landscape through digital tools.
Together, these elements produced a market moment defined by both emotional resonance and financial clarity — positioning Arrival of Spring as one of the most significant print series of Hockney’s late career.
New York Confirms the Depth of Demand: Contemporary Day Auction Results
November 19th's New York Contemporary Day Auction at Sotheby's added a second, equally compelling layer of evidence for the depth of Hockney’s Arrival of Spring market. Unlike the London single-owner sale, these works were offered within a wider contemporary context — alongside paintings, sculptures and editioned works by a broad roster of blue-chip artists. Even in this more competitive setting, Hockney’s iPad landscapes delivered exceptionally strong results, with several prints soaring far above their estimates.
Across the eight works offered — all from The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) — estimates typically ranged between $100,000 and $200,000 USD. The realised prices, however, show a clear and consistent pattern: every work exceeded its estimate, in some cases by an extraordinary margin.
What These Results Demonstrate
Taken together, these eight lots present an unusually clear picture of demand:
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Every single print surpassed its high estimate, often by 2×, 3× or more.
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Prices clustered well into the mid- to high-six-figure range, reinforcing the benchmarks set in London.
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Strong bidding was visible across works dated from January through May, suggesting seasonal variation had no impact on appetite.
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The two top results — $762,000 USD for the prints dated 19 May and 25 April — demonstrate that the highest demand is not tied to one specific composition but to the series as a whole.
What is most striking is that these results occurred outside a themed or single-owner setting. In a general Contemporary Day Auction — where works compete for attention with major names across movements — Hockney’s prints still achieved exceptional, market-leading figures.
This shows that The Arrival of Spring has moved beyond specialist print circles: buyers now view these works as a central part of the contemporary landscape, not a niche within Hockney’s oeuvre.
Why This Strengthens the Broader Narrative
The New York results confirm that Arrival of Spring has become a recognised blue-chip category across geographies and sale formats. The consistent ability of these works to outperform estimates — even when positioned against a wide array of contemporary artworks — signals:
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Resilient and reliable demand, not dependent on a single high-profile sale
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International interest, with strong bidding in both Europe and the USA
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Institutional-level validation, reflected in confident participation
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A maturing market, with increasingly predictable price bands and clear escalation patterns
Collectors are no longer categorising these works as experimental digital prints. Instead, they are treated as fully realised, museum-backed landscapes by one of the most important living artists — often outperforming his traditional print media and competing directly with top-tier works across the category.
A Broader Implication for Collectors
With London establishing the upper benchmark at approximately $1 million USD, and New York consistently delivering hammer prices between $400,000 and $760,000 USD, the market now shows a clear and functional hierarchy.
This dual-auction evidence — London and New York — is what ultimately elevates The Arrival of Spring from a successful late-career project into a core asset class within Hockney’s print market.
From Early Collectors to a New Phase of Ownership
Another important development is the transition from early adopters to a new, more strategic generation of buyers. Many works in the London sale came from a single original owner — someone who recognised the significance of the iPad drawings early on. Their release of the group provided rare visibility into a tightly held area of the market.
As these first-wave collectors exit, new buyers are stepping forward — typically senior professionals, entrepreneurs and global collectors who value both the clarity of the price history and the cultural weight of the work. This shift signals that the category has moved beyond novelty and become a stable, data-supported segment of the blue-chip print market.
The Yosemite Suite and the Broader iPad Canon
While Arrival of Spring has become the benchmark, the Yosemite Suite remains an important parallel collecting area. These works, often carrying estimates and auction results in the mid-five to low-six-figure range, provide a more varied price ladder while maintaining the same late-career significance.
Their market trajectory — with top examples reaching over $160,000 and mid-tier works performing steadily — reinforces the idea that Hockney’s digital practice forms a coherent, institutionally validated category. Together, the Yosemite and Woldgate works present complementary approaches to landscape, united by the same innovative iPad-based technique.
A Practical View for 2025–2028 Collecting
For collectors who value structure and clarity, Hockney’s print market now offers a highly navigable path:
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Core holdings: A major work from The Arrival of Spring — ideally one of the top-tier Woldgate or Normandy images — forms the anchor of a serious Hockney print collection.
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Mid-tier opportunities: Yosemite works and additional iPad prints offer accessible ways to build breadth while maintaining exposure to the same artistic narrative.
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Supporting depth: Earlier lithographs and etchings add historical context and reinforce long-term demand across multiple decades of Hockney’s career.
This layered approach allows collectors to build a balanced, future-oriented Hockney portfolio without relying solely on headline results.
Taken together, the London and New York auctions reflect a market with genuine depth and maturity. The Arrival of Spring series has emerged as a defining category within Hockney’s oeuvre — visually compelling, institutionally prominent and supported by clear, consistent pricing.
For the educated, time-constrained collector, Hockney’s print market in 2025 offers a rare combination of innovation, cultural relevance and measurable performance. It is a sector that feels settled, confident and likely to remain a strong part of the contemporary print landscape for years to come. Explore David Hockney prints for sale and contact our galleries via info@guyhepner.com for latest availabilities.
