David Hockney, one of the most influential artists of our time.
David Hockney first rose to prominence in the 1960s whilst he was still a student at the Royal College of Art. Since then, his reputation has only continued to grow, and he is now widely recognised as one of the most popular, celebrated, and sought-after artists alive today.
Hockney has experimented in numerous artistic fields throughout his long and distinguished career, including photography, stage design, painting, and drawing, yet he is also acknowledged as a talented printmaker. Prints account for 85% of Hockney’s work sold at auction, with the majority selling for between £1,000 and £5,000, though many reach £50,000, and some fetch even higher prices.
If you are the owner of a David Hockney print, and you’d like to find out more about how to sell it, please contact Mark Littler today. Below is a list of David Hockney’s most expensive prints sold at auction.
Free Specialist Print Valuations
Please use the form below to submit images of your print and receive a free, no-obligation valuation from a specialist auctioneer. We will also actively seek the highest offer from our network of private collectors to help you sell your print.
"*" indicates required fields
Piscine De Medianoche (Paper Pool 30)
This print is part of David Hockney’s 1978 Paper Pools series; the series is one of Hockney’s most popular, and it’s made up of a number of works all created using coloured and pressed paper pulp. The print was sold by Sotheby’s in May 2018 for a staggering £7,560,852, more than £2 million above its estimated price.
Swimming pools are, arguably, Hockney’s most recognisable motif, and this particular print is a wonderful depiction of a pool illuminated by underwater lights against the backdrop of an inky-black night. Hockney was introduced by chance to the technique he used in Paper Pools by his friend, the master printmaker Kenneth Tyler; the artist was left stranded in New York after losing his driving licence, and he ended up staying with Tyler at his Bedford Village house for several weeks. The prints that resulted from the serendipitous accident are both beautiful and highly sought-after in today’s art market.
Piscine De Medianoche (Paper Pool 30) Sold by Sotheby’s in 2018
Sprungbrett Mit Schatten (Paper Pool 14)
Hockney’s second most expensive print is also from his Paper Pools series, and it fetched £4,851,190 when it was sold by Christie’s in November 2018. Though the subject matter is the same as Paper Pool 30, the prints depict a vibrant swimming pool glittering in the sunlight, rather than one illuminated at night.
Hockney was fascinated by the new technique Tyler had introduced him to and the possibilities it opened up; apparentl, Hockney spent days studying the pool, and he photographed and drew it at many different times of day and night in order to understand how the lights and the colours shifted as a result.
Sprungbrett Mit Schatten (Paper Pool 14) Sold by Christie’s in 2018
Pool On A Cloudy Day With Rain (Paper Pool 22)
The Paper Pools series once again proves its popularity, with this print being sold by Sotheby’s for £4,100,000 in July 2020. This time, the pool is depicted in overcast conditions, the gloomy weather serving as a bold contrast to the still dazzlingly-blue water.
Hockney stated that although he initially intended to stay with Kenneth Tyler for only three days, once he started working, he found it hard to stop. In the end, he realised he’d worked for 45 days running, taking only one day off in that time.
Pool On A Cloudy Day With Rain (Paper Pool 22) Sold by Sotheby’s in 2020
Green Pool With Diving Board And Shadow (Paper Pool 3)
David Hockney’s fourth most expensive print again comes from the Paper Pools series of 1978, and it was sold by Christie’s in May 2023 for £1,525,795. Hockney has an extraordinary talent for capturing the transient, vacillating nature of water and the way light plays off it, as is particularly evident in this print.
One of the reasons Hockney was so fascinated with the paper pulp technique was due to its wet, tactile, nature. The artist said he “began to see there were real possibilities” for working with it, and he couldn’t resist the playful, self-referentialism of conveying a swimming pool through such a watery medium.
Green Pool With Diving Board And Shadow (Paper Pool 3) Sold by Christies in 2023
Steps With Shadow (Paper Pool 2)
This 1978 print is still part of the Paper Pools series, and it was sold by Sotheby’s in June 2019 for £650,000. Hockney’s delight in experimenting with water, light, and shadow is clear to see here, and the image is beautifully evocative of cool water on a hot day.
Hockney’s Paper Pools series owes something to Henri Matisse’s cut-outs, with the vibrant colours and clean lines of the prints being reminiscent of the French artist’s last works. Indeed, Hockney once remarked that “the Mediterranean is a blue hedonistic pool in a Matisse sense. In California, it is the swimming pool, and not the ocean, that is the hedonistic pool. And my pools are that. Blue hedonistic pools.”
Steps With Shadow (Paper Pool 2) Sold by Sotheby’s in 2019
Home-Made Prints
These 33 prints are part of Hockney’s Home-Made Prints series from 1986, and they were sold by Sotheby’s in May 2021 for £555,707. Never able to turn down the opportunity to try something new, Hockney developed the series after experimenting with a copy machine, and he soon found it was a fantastic way of creating prints.
The copy machine appealed to him because it bypassed the traditional need for working in a master printmaker’s studio, often for a prolonged period of time and with several other people. Hockney could finally work alone to create prints in a matter of seconds, and he stated “this is the closest I’ve ever come in printing to what it’s like to paint.”
Home Made Prints Sold by Sotheby’s in 2021
Gregory In The Pool (Paper Pool 4)
Hockney’s Paper Pools return with this print, which was sold by Sotheby’s in March 2020 for £430,754. The image depicts Hockney’s lover at the time, Gregory Evans, in Kenneth Tyler’s pool.
Most of the prints from this series are devoid of human beings, but the artist said that in this print, the flesh was “a good contrast to the effect of water and the effect of shadow.” Though Evans and Hockney are no longer lovers, they remain close friends, and Evans has been a consistent model for the artist over the past fifty years; when asked in an interview who the love of his life was, Hockney replied “Maybe Gregory.”
Gregory In The Pool (Paper Pool 4) Sold by Sotheby’s in 2020
