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At Sotheby’s London, David Hockney has once again rewritten the rules of what defines a masterpiece. Seventeen works from his radiant iPad series, The Arrival of Spring, went under the hammer on Friday, bringing in a staggering £6.2 million ($8.3 million)—more than double their high estimate. The sale not only achieved a “white-glove” result, with every lot sold, but also set three new records for the artist’s prints, including a peak of £762,000 ($1 million) for The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 – 19 February (2011).
Described by Yessica Marks, Sotheby’s Head of Prints for Europe, as “impactful and uplifting,” the works mark a pivotal moment in the ongoing dialogue between traditional painting and digital creation. Created in 2011, when Hockney was 88, the series emerged from the artist’s fascination with East Yorkshire’s shifting landscapes. Initially planning to paint outdoors, Hockney famously opted for the warmth of his iPad instead—sketching daily scenes of Woldgate’s springtime light with a stylus rather than a brush. The results captured the fleeting vitality of nature in the artist’s unmistakable palette: fresh greens, pink mists, and yellow bursts of renewal.
The collection represents the largest group of Hockney iPad drawings ever to hit the auction market. Of the 94 digital works created that season, the artist later curated 51 final images, 17 of which formed this historic sale. All fifteen editions from this run achieved record-breaking prices, underscoring Hockney’s enduring status as both a technical innovator and a market powerhouse.
The event—timed perfectly with Frieze Week—became a talking point in London’s art scene. “The spirited bidding and strong global participation underscore the immense appreciation that exists for Hockney—and for the fearless experimentation that makes him the genius he is,” Marks told ARTnews.
First unveiled during Hockney’s 2012 retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts, The Arrival of Spring has grown into a defining body of work in the digital era. Its record-breaking success this week pushes Sotheby’s six-month total for modern and contemporary art sales to £240 million ($322 million), including Francis Bacon’s Portrait of a Dwarf(1975), which exceeded expectations at £13.1 million ($17.6 million).
In 2025, as artists and collectors continue to navigate the tension between pixels and paint, Hockney’s achievement stands as a reminder: art evolves, but its urgency—and its market—never fades.
