A segment of Autour de la maison, été by David Hockney
Every September since 2022, Phillips London has hosted a small sale dedicated exclusively to the works of British artist David Hockney. They have consistently been among the auction house’s most successful sales, given the artist’s enduring popularity over the decades. However, the most recent edition on September 19th marked the first of these sales following Hockney’s death on June 11, 2026. The death of a living artist can sometimes drastically affect their market. However, in the months following his passing, demand for Hockney’s work seems as strong as ever.
Lithographic Water Made of Lines, Crayon, and a Blue Wash by David Hockney
The expected star of the sale was the large print Autour de la maison, été. Depicting the Normandy countryside, the inkjet print is made from a single, twelve-meter-long sheet of paper, making it Hockney’s largest editioned print. The artist said that he was inspired by Chinese paintings done on long scrolls on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the 1980s. Phillips specialists have also drawn comparisons to the Bayeux Tapestry, which is typically on display just 60 kilometers west of Hockney’s French studio (however, it is currently in London at the British Museum in a highly publicized exhibition). Estimated to sell for at least £150K, Autour de la maison, été sold for its low estimate (or £193.5K / $259.2K w/p).
Next up was Lithographic Water Made of Lines, Crayon, and a Blue Wash, one of a series of forty-eight completed in 1980. The central subject, a diving board hanging over a rippling swimming pool, is one of Hockney’s most recognizable images. Many of his paintings and print series, most famously Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), feature swimming pools as ultimate symbols of twentieth-century prosperity. The Lithographic Water series, however, was more of a technical exercise for Hockney. Phillips specialists assigned an estimate range of £100K to £150K, with the hammer coming down at £120K (or £154.8K / $207.4K w/p).
An Image of Gregory by David Hockney
And finally, two lots took third place at Phillips on Saturday. The first was the lithograph An Image of Gregory, which comes from Hockney’s Moving Focus print series. Completed in 1985, the Moving Focus series was Hockney’s attempt to inject elements of cubism into his work, experimenting with space and perspective. The present work is a portrait of the artist’s friend Gregory Evans, shown sitting cross-legged in a pinstripe suit. Similar to Picasso’s portraiture, Evans is shown simultaneously looking straight at the viewer and in profile. The next lot, Tyler Dining Room, was made as part of the same series, with this example exploring “spatial complexity”. Against respective high estimates of £70K and £60K, both lots exceeded Phillips predictions and sold for £110K each (or £141.9K / $190.1K w/p).
Of the seventy-seven available lots, eleven sold for more than double their high estimates, constituting 14.2% of the sale. The most notable examples were the 1993 lithograph Blue Hang Cliff (est. £10K to £15K; £38K hammer), the 1963 etching The Gospel Singing (Good Singing) Madison Square Garden (est. £4K to £6K; £14K hammer), and the 1995 inkjet print First Detail, Snails Space, March 25th 1995 (est. £7K to £9K; £20K hammer).
Tyler Dining Room by David Hockney
In the past, the Hockney sales at Phillips have always done very well. Saturday’s sale brought in a total of £1.56 million against a pre-sale high estimate of £1.46 million. This is consistent with previous editions. The 2026 edition was also very consistent in other categories. Of the seventy-seven available lots, twenty sold within their estimates, giving Phillips a 26% accuracy rate. An additional nine lots (12%) sold below their estimates, while an astounding forty-six lots (60%) sold above. With only two lots going unsold, Phillips achieved a 97% sell-through rate. This is not unusual for the David Hockney sales at Phillips. Last year’s sale saw 79% of lots sell above estimate and a 95% sell-through rate. These sales’ successes are not only a testament to Hockney’s significance during his lifetime but also to his impact on the market and subsequent generations of artists.
The David Hockney Sale at Phillips London
A segment of Autour de la maison, été by David Hockney
Every September since 2022, Phillips London has hosted a small sale dedicated exclusively to the works of British artist David Hockney. They have consistently been among the auction house’s most successful sales, given the artist’s enduring popularity over the decades. However, the most recent edition on September 19th marked the first of these sales following Hockney’s death on June 11, 2026. The death of a living artist can sometimes drastically affect their market. However, in the months following his passing, demand for Hockney’s work seems as strong as ever.
Lithographic Water Made of Lines, Crayon, and a Blue Wash by David Hockney
The expected star of the sale was the large print Autour de la maison, été. Depicting the Normandy countryside, the inkjet print is made from a single, twelve-meter-long sheet of paper, making it Hockney’s largest editioned print. The artist said that he was inspired by Chinese paintings done on long scrolls on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the 1980s. Phillips specialists have also drawn comparisons to the Bayeux Tapestry, which is typically on display just 60 kilometers west of Hockney’s French studio (however, it is currently in London at the British Museum in a highly publicized exhibition). Estimated to sell for at least £150K, Autour de la maison, été sold for its low estimate (or £193.5K / $259.2K w/p).
Next up was Lithographic Water Made of Lines, Crayon, and a Blue Wash, one of a series of forty-eight completed in 1980. The central subject, a diving board hanging over a rippling swimming pool, is one of Hockney’s most recognizable images. Many of his paintings and print series, most famously Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), feature swimming pools as ultimate symbols of twentieth-century prosperity. The Lithographic Water series, however, was more of a technical exercise for Hockney. Phillips specialists assigned an estimate range of £100K to £150K, with the hammer coming down at £120K (or £154.8K / $207.4K w/p).
An Image of Gregory by David Hockney
And finally, two lots took third place at Phillips on Saturday. The first was the lithograph An Image of Gregory, which comes from Hockney’s Moving Focus print series. Completed in 1985, the Moving Focus series was Hockney’s attempt to inject elements of cubism into his work, experimenting with space and perspective. The present work is a portrait of the artist’s friend Gregory Evans, shown sitting cross-legged in a pinstripe suit. Similar to Picasso’s portraiture, Evans is shown simultaneously looking straight at the viewer and in profile. The next lot, Tyler Dining Room, was made as part of the same series, with this example exploring “spatial complexity”. Against respective high estimates of £70K and £60K, both lots exceeded Phillips predictions and sold for £110K each (or £141.9K / $190.1K w/p).
Of the seventy-seven available lots, eleven sold for more than double their high estimates, constituting 14.2% of the sale. The most notable examples were the 1993 lithograph Blue Hang Cliff (est. £10K to £15K; £38K hammer), the 1963 etching The Gospel Singing (Good Singing) Madison Square Garden (est. £4K to £6K; £14K hammer), and the 1995 inkjet print First Detail, Snails Space, March 25th 1995 (est. £7K to £9K; £20K hammer).
Tyler Dining Room by David Hockney
In the past, the Hockney sales at Phillips have always done very well. Saturday’s sale brought in a total of £1.56 million against a pre-sale high estimate of £1.46 million. This is consistent with previous editions. The 2026 edition was also very consistent in other categories. Of the seventy-seven available lots, twenty sold within their estimates, giving Phillips a 26% accuracy rate. An additional nine lots (12%) sold below their estimates, while an astounding forty-six lots (60%) sold above. With only two lots going unsold, Phillips achieved a 97% sell-through rate. This is not unusual for the David Hockney sales at Phillips. Last year’s sale saw 79% of lots sell above estimate and a 95% sell-through rate. These sales’ successes are not only a testament to Hockney’s significance during his lifetime but also to his impact on the market and subsequent generations of artists.