FREE SHIPPING to UK for all unframed prints
David Hockney | Top 5 Works Sold at Auction + a Bonus addition
Editorial / Artists

David Hockney | Top 5 Works Sold at Auction + a Bonus addition

26 Feb 2026 | 2 min read

For more than sixty years, David Hockney has been reimagining the world around him: from those impossibly blue Los Angeles swimming pools to tender portraits of friends and lovers, vast Yorkshire landscapes bursting with colour, and, more recently, iPad drawings that prove experimentation doesn’t belong to the young alone. At the heart of it all is a fascination with how we see, and how painting can make us look again.

It’s no surprise, then, that Hockney’s market has become one of the most closely followed in post-war art. His works don’t just command extraordinary prices; they capture moments, places and relationships that feel deeply human, and collectors continue to respond to that sense of immediacy and warmth.

Bonus +1

Bonus +1

The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (Twenty eleven) - 19 February

iPad drawing printed in colours on wove paper | 140 by 105 cm | Edition of 25

£762,000

The David Hockney Sale: The Arrival of Spring - Sotheby's London 17th October 2025.

It was a monumental sale of 17 of the limited editions from the 51-strong portfolio. making this the most expensive iPad edition ever sold.

5.

5.

The Splash, 1966

Acrylic on canvas | 182.88 x 182.88cm

£23,117,000

Contemporary Art Evening - Sotheby's London, 11th February 2020

The Splash is considered to be one of the stand-out pop art images of the 20th Century and is one of a trio of works alongside A Little Splash and A Bigger Splash.

4.

4.

Nichols Canyon, 1980

Acrylic on canvas 213.4 x 152.4 cm

£30,757,361

20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale - Phillips New York, 7th December 2020

Nichols Canyon captures the artist’s daily commute from his home in the Hollywood Hills to his studio on Santa Monica Boulevard. It is seen as a pivotal piece that embraces a more abstract, painterly approach to landscape. Nichols Canyon reflects the vibrancy and geography of Southern California.

3.

3.

Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy, 1968

Acrylic on Canvas | 212 x 303.5cm

£33,643,657

20th Century Evening Sale - Christie's New York, 17th November 2025

Painted in 1968, the work portrays celebrated English novelist Christopher Isherwood, author of A Single Man and Goodbye to Berlin, the latter inspiring Cabaret, seated beside his partner, the Californian painter Don Bachardy. Set within their Santa Monica home, the composition offers a poised and intimate portrait of two significant creative figures, with Bachardy himself recognised for his accomplished and deeply personal portrait practice.

2.

2.

Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott, 1969

Acrylic on Canvas | 213.36 x 304.8cm

£37,661,250

Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction - Christie's London, 6th March 2019

Created in 1969, the painting captures Henry Geldzahler, the influential curator and driving force within the New York art world. Beside him stands Christopher Scott, artist and model, sharply dressed in a trench coat.

Only seven double portraits by Hockney exist, four of which are held in institutional collections and two of which constitute the artist's world record and second-highest price achieved at auction.

1.

1.

Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), 1972

Acrylic on Canvas | 213.36 x 304.8cm

£70,812,022

Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale - Christie's New York, 15th November 2018

Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) remains Hockney's record result. For some time, this result made Hockney the highest result for a living artist, until Jeff Koons set the record in 2019 with Rabbit, which sold for £71,000,000.

Hang-Up updates
Get exclusive updates and special offers.