David Hockney’s iPad Market: 2026 Market Analysis

What do we mean by 'the ipad market'?

The 2026 market for David Hockney’s iPad works is largely centred around three series: The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, the Yosemite Suite and 20 Flowers and Some Bigger Pictures.

They are often grouped together as the ‘Hockney iPad market’, but in reality, each is behaving quite differently. Even within the same series, one auction result does not necessarily tell us much about the 'value' of another image. So rather than looking at Hockney’s iPad works as one market, this analysis looks at what is actually happening within each of the three series in 2026, and what that might tell us about where the wider market is heading.

We have deliberately left the large-format works out of this analysis, including the large Arrival of Spring editions of 10, Yosemite editions of 12 and the Bigger Pictures. These works are increasingly operating within a market of their own.

By Erin Carrington: September 25th, 2026.

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David Hockney iPad Market in 2026: At a Glance
Auction results, Hockney's passing and the unknown
At first glance, the 2026 auction results show three very different markets. The Arrival of Spring has seen 33 works offered and sold, 20 Flowers has had just four auction appearances, while only three Yosemite works have come to auction and only one has sold.
- Arrival of Spring: Prices have eased from the exceptional 2025 peak but remain materially above 2024.
- 20 Flowers: 2026 is the first year in the dataset showing meaningful average-price appreciation since 2023.
- Yosemite: Auction data is currently too thin and composition-specific to establish a reliable series-wide benchmark.
- Across all three: Composition is becoming increasingly important as the secondary market matures.
FACTORS AFFECTING THE HOCKNEY IPAD MARKET IN 2026

Hockney’s death in June 2026 was a significant loss to the art world and created a clear dividing line within the year, with collectors and industry professionals increasingly referring to the market in terms of ‘pre-’ and ‘post-death’. His death brought an immediate increase in attention; however, the anticipated influx of works onto the market did not materialise. Instead, we saw many owners become increasingly sentimental about their works and, in some cases, less inclined to sell.

The October auction season will provide an important test, with works appearing across the major auction houses alongside increased private-market activity around international art fairs. The announcement of Hockney’s 2027 retrospective has also begun to influence seller expectations. At this stage, however, the idea of a broader ‘post-death premium’ remains more speculation than established market evidence.
A deep dive into the iPad series
Arrival of Spring, 20 Flowers and Yosemite Suite

Arrival of Spring 2026 Market Analysis, WHERE HAS THE MARKET SETTLED IN 2026?

The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, 1st January, 2011

iPad drawing printed on paper

55in x 41.5 In, Edition of 25

©David Hockney

Arrival of Spring 2026 Market Analysis

WHERE HAS THE MARKET SETTLED IN 2026?

The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate currently has one of the most established secondary markets among Hockney’s iPad series. Sotheby’s dedicated auction in October 2025 marked a significant point for the series, setting three new records and seeing every work sell above its high estimate. The results raised an obvious question: where could The Arrival of Spring market go next?

There has since been some discussion of The Arrival of Spring market “levelling”, alongside a tendency to use the series as a proxy for Hockney’s wider iPad market. Both interpretations require more nuance. While individual results have generally decreased from the levels achieved during Sotheby’s sale, this does not necessarily mean that the wider market has declined. One way to illustrate this is to follow the same image across three auction appearances, before, during and after the dedicated sale. While one result can't represent the entire series, it shows an important distinction: prices may have eased from the Sotheby’s peaks, but they've remained materially above earlier prices.

Arrival of Spring, 1st January, 2011	Auction House	Sale Date	Auction Result	Increase*
Before Sotheby's dedicated sale	Bonhams	7th October 2025	$279,900	Baseline
Sotheby's dedicated sale	Sotheby's	17th October 2025	$520,050	+85.8%
After Sotheby's dedicated sale	Christie's	16th July 2026	$444,500	+58.8%

*% increase is based off the baseline result

Arrival of Spring 2024-2026 Auction Results

The 2026 overview table below shows the number of works offered at auction over the past three years and the average price achieved. On the surface, it tells a relatively simple story: a sharp acceleration in 2025, followed by some normalisation in 2026. However, the 2026 average of $335,568 remains 52.4% higher than the 2024 average of $220,165. While the exceptional results achieved in 2025 have not been repeated across every subsequent auction appearance, prices are generally above where they stood two years earlier.

Arrival of Spring at auction	2024	2025	2026
Lots Offered	9	36	33
Lots Sold	9	36	33
Average Sale Price	$220,165	$401,902	$335,568
Lowest result	$107,329	$112,254*	$217,600
Highest result	$432,792	$1,040,100	$660,390
Avg. sale price year-on-year change	Baseline	+82.6%	+52.4%

*This represents the second-lowest result in 2025. The lowest result has been excluded due to significant condition issues; see the lot here.

The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, 4th May, 2011

iPad drawing printed on paper

55in x 41.5 In, Edition of 25

©David Hockney

How representative was the dedicated Sotheby's sale?
What the results tell us, and what they don't...
The Sotheby's results also need to be understood within the context of an auction. An auction price does not necessarily represent where the wider market would transact; in some cases, it reflects the point at which two determined bidders stopped competing. This was particularly relevant to the dedicated Sotheby's sale, where concentrated demand and successful marketing helped drive competitive bidding. Read our full analysis of the sale in our dedicated report 2025-2026 Arrival of Spring market shift.

That same level of competition wasn't evident across every Arrival of Spring offered by the major auction houses around the same period. Other examples came to market without generating the same bidding intensity. The Sotheby's sale was important in demonstrating what certain collectors were prepared to pay for particular works, but not evidence that these prices were universal.

The Arrival of Spring, 4th May, 2011 provides a useful example. The composition achieved £330,000 at Sotheby's on 17 October 2025, while another edition of the same composition sold at Christie's a few months later for £241,300. The difference shows why the competitive environment at Sotheby's should not automatically be treated as the benchmark for every subsequent transaction.
Arrival of Spring Private Sale

How the market has changed in 2026 in the private market

2025 established new price benchmarks for the series.

2026 is testing them.

The 2026 private market has broadly followed the auction trajectory, with works that previously sat within the £130k –£230k range now more commonly priced between £230k and £330k+. It's also important for collectors not to confuse private asking prices with achieved prices. There is a distinction between the advertised market and the transactional market: some listings can indicate where sellers would like the market to be, while completed transactions show where buyers and sellers are actually meeting.

Increasingly, the question is not simply whether an Arrival of Spring is available, but which Arrival of Spring is available. Geist has observed a shift in ownership following the rise in prices during 2025, which encouraged more commercially minded owners to test the market. Many of those works have since changed hands, both privately and at auction, leaving a greater proportion with longer-term owners who have a genuine attachment to the work and require substantially higher prices to consider selling. As a result, supply is beginning to tighten. Arrival of Spring works can still be found, but finding desirable compositions that are also well-priced is becoming increasingly more difficult in 2026.

Explore our private sale Arrival of Spring opportunities →
Geist 2026 Arrival of Spring Sales:
Selection of Arrival of Spring works sold by Geist in 2026
Yosemite Number 12, 2010

iPad drawing printed on paper

37 x 28 in, Edition of 25

©David Hockney

Yosemite Suite Market Analysis 2026

The Yosemite Suite has developed a much more isolated and scaled-down auction result market compared to The Arrival of Spring and it's become increasingly harder for collectors to get a generalised understanding of where the current market is in 2026.

Recent auction results demonstrate why the Yosemite Suite cannot be assessed using series-wide averages alone. Only one successful lot has been offered so far at Auction in 2026, and this was Phillip's Yosemite 19 at the dedicated David Hockney sale in September 2026, which sold for £77,400 (inc. Buyer's Premium). There have been several recent bought-in lots have involved the same small number of images. For example, Yosemite No. 13 was offered unsuccessfully four times between November 2025 and August 2026. Yosemite No. 5 was also bought in twice during 2025.

By comparison, other images within the series have demonstrated considerably stronger secondary-market demand. Untitled No. 1 provides one of the clearest examples. The work sold for $100,800 via Christie's in July 2024 and subsequently achieved $138,600 at Christie’s in April 2025. The distinction is important when assessing Yosemite values. A bought-in result provides only limited evidence of demand for a particular composition at a particular price and moment in time. It should not automatically be applied across all 29 images in the series and, in some cases, may not even be representative of the market for another edition of the same image.

View Yosemite Suite Auction Results →
The Challenge of Pricing Yosemite in 2026

"Expectations drive prices.

Yosemite is still undefined..."

There is currently no clear benchmark around which Yosemite owners and buyers can converge, but auction results only tell part of the story. The series has a particularly wide variation in compositional desirability, and many of the better Yosemite works are trading privately rather than appearing at auction. As a result, the public auction record does not accurately reflect where demand for the stronger compositions sits.

This becomes particularly interesting when viewed alongside Arrival of Spring. As Arrival of Spring has moved beyond the £130k–£230k range where it previously operated, it has created space beneath it for another Hockney iPad series. Increasingly, the better Yosemite works appear to be moving into this territory.

Geist's private transactions provide some indication of that shift; we sold Yosemite works between £70k to just under £140k throughout 2025-2026. While there is not yet enough evidence to establish a series-wide benchmark, these private transactions suggest that stronger Yosemite compositions are beginning to occupy the part of the market where Arrival of Spring previously traded.

Yosemite private sales 2025/26:

Artwork	Sale Date	Sale Price	Notes
Yosemite No. 10	2026	£120,000	Private Sale
Yosemite No. 9	2025	£110,000	Private Sale
Yosemite No. 11	2025	£102,000	Private Sale
Yosemite No. 1	2025	£87,500	Private Sale
Yosemite No. 8	2025	£100,000	Private Sale
Yosemite No. 12	2025	£137,642	Private Sale

The Arrival of Spring vs Yosemite Suite
How comparable are each series
Another factor to consider when assessing the Yosemite market in 2026 is its relatively limited supply compared with other Hockney iPad series. Although the standard-format Yosemite and Arrival of Spring works were both produced in editions of 25, there are only 24 standard-format Yosemite images compared with 49 in Arrival of Spring. This equates to approximately 600 numbered Yosemite works, less than half the 1,225 Arrival of Spring works.

Part of Arrival of Spring's success has been its balance: enough works exist to generate regular transactions and establish meaningful price benchmarks, without the market becoming oversaturated. While Yosemite has yet to develop the same level of secondary-market liquidity, it has its own characteristics that support its collectability: a physical scale well suited to domestic settings, more limited supply, and subject matter with particular appeal to many collectors.

Series Number of Images Edition Size Numbered Edition Supply

Arrival of Spring 49 25 1,225

Yosemite Suite 24 25 600

20 Flowers 20 50 1,000

Figures represent the numbered editions of standard-format works only. Large-format works and artist's proofs are excluded.

Whether Yosemite ultimately firmly establishes itself within the £130k–£230k bracket remains to be seen, but its comparatively limited supply, collectability and still-developing secondary market make it one of the more interesting areas of Hockney’s iPad market to watch.
4th February 2021, Flowers in a White Vase with Chair, 2021

iPad painting printed on paper

89 x 63.5 cm, Edition of 50

©David Hockney

20 Flowers Market Analysis

In 2026, 20 Flowers has seen a modest increase in auction prices. However, as with Yosemite and The Arrival of Spring, results vary between individual works, and not every composition commands the same level of demand. The 20 Flowers and Some Bigger Pictures series includes 20 individual flower works alongside a smaller group of large-scale iPad works. The flowers were released in editions of 50, compared with editions of 25 for the standard-format Arrival of Spring and Yosemite works, and carried an original release price of $50,000. This gave the series a relatively high starting point for the primary market.

Importantly, the secondary market has developed alongside continued primary supply. As works began to reappear at auction and privately, examples remained available through the primary gallery network. This is still the case in 2026, with works being offered by primary galleries at around $85,000. Buyers are therefore not operating within a purely secondary market and can effectively compare resale opportunities against works still available from primary galleries.

Despite this, the auction market is beginning to develop. Recent results have moved above earlier secondary-market levels, albeit more gradually than the repricing seen within Arrival of Spring. As primary supply diminishes and more works circulate on the secondary market, we should begin to see a clearer distinction between the more and less desirable compositions, and ultimately where the wider series finds its level.

View 20 Flowers Auction Results →
Examples of 20 Flowers works:
iPad prints by David Hockney
What does this tell us about Hockney's iPad market in 2026?

If there's one thing the 2026 data demonstrates, it is that Hockney’s iPad market is becoming more established, but also more complex.

Hockney’s iPad market has proven itself to be arguably the most successful print market of the 21st century. The Arrival of Spring, Yosemite and 20 Flowers are increasingly developing their own pricing histories, collector preferences and market dynamics. If 2025 demonstrated the potential of Hockney’s iPad market, 2026 is showing what a more mature version of that market looks like. As prices and owner expectations evolve, the next question is what fills the space below, which series move into the price bands above, and how repeated circulation affects liquidity.

One thing is clear: the story of Hockney’s iPad market is far from over.
Explore more from Hockney:
DISCLAIMER

This article has been prepared by Geist Holdings Ltd for informational and editorial purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal or tax advice and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment, valuation or commercial decision.

All auction results, pricing references, private-sale information and market observations are based on information obtained from sources believed to be reliable, including auction houses, publicly available market data, private transactions and Geist Holdings Ltd's internal records. While reasonable care has been taken in preparing this analysis, Geist Holdings Ltd makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or continued relevance of the information provided.

Auction results, private asking prices and completed private transactions should not be treated as directly equivalent measures of value. Individual results may be influenced by factors including condition, provenance, edition number, composition, timing, location, buyer competition, seller expectations and the terms of a particular transaction. References to individual sales or groups of sales should therefore not be interpreted as definitive valuations of other works within the same series.

Where private transactions are referenced, certain details may remain confidential and may not be independently verifiable. Such information is included to provide additional market context and should not be interpreted as independently verified market evidence. Currency conversions, where applicable, have been calculated using HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) exchange rates relevant to the period being analysed and may differ from rates available at the date of publication.

The art market is inherently subjective and can be illiquid. Past results are not indicative of future performance, and there is no assurance that an artwork will achieve a similar price if subsequently offered for sale. Market conditions and values may change without notice.

Geist Holdings Ltd, its directors, employees and affiliates may from time to time own, buy, sell, broker or otherwise have a financial interest in artworks, artists, series or markets discussed in this article.