David Hockney in spotlight at Bonhams

The groundbreaking work of David Hockney will be in the spotlight in an upcoming dedicated sale at Bonhams this summer.

With a diverse array of instantly recognisable works in numerous mediums from across an over six-decade long career, Hockney remains one of the world’s most popular artists working today. With a major exhibition currently taking place at Foundation Louis Vuitton, Paris, Bonhams said the sale is timed to celebrate the artist’s career and his continued commitment to creating innovative works.

On June 25, the sale will have a focus on Hockney’s pioneering printmaking with An Even Bigger Picture: David Hockney & Friends at Bonhams New Bond Street, London, which will take place alongside the Summer Fine Prints & Multiples sale on the same day, which will feature screen prints by Andy Warhol, prints by Banksy and Picasso, and works from the Grosvenor School.

The dedicated auction will highlight Hockney’s prolific printmaking career, together with contemporary creative makers, muses and friends, from the 1960s to the present day.

Estimates in the more than 40-lot sale range from £500 to £100,000, showcasing  Hockney’s groundbreaking techniques of printmaking, presenting established genres through a new lens irrespective of styles and traditions. Starting with well-established techniques of etching and lithography and moving on to his experimentation in photography and digital printing, the sale aims to offer a ‘bigger picture’ of Hockney as an artist.

Highlights of the sale will include:

• David Hockney R.A. (British, born 1937), Lithograph of Water Made of Lines and a Green Wash Lithograph in colours, 1978-80. Estimate: £70,000 – 100,000.
• David Hockney, R.A. (British, born 1973), My Shirt with Trousers. Estimate: £55,000 – 70,000.
• David Hockney R.A. (British, born 1937), Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book Lithograph in colours, 1980. Estimate: £30,000 – 50,000.
• David Hockney R.A. (British, born 1937), A Bigger Book: Art Edition C, ‘Untitled 468’. Estimate: £20,000 – £30,000.
• David Hockney R.A. (British, born 1937) Untitled No.329, from A Bigger Book: Art Edition A. Estimate: £20,000 – £30,000.

Carolin von Massenbach, Bonhams Head of Prints & Multiples, commented:“Bonhams is proud to have introduced the first auction dedicated to Britain’s most celebrated living artist, David Hockney, and with a long-standing tradition of offering editions by Hockney, we are delighted to revive and reframe the auction by focusing on An Even Bigger Picture: David Hockney and Friends.”

She continued: “Whilst Hockney continues to actively create, we are seeing a surge of interest in the early stages of his printmaking career, in addition to his later iPad drawings, achieving exceptional results and solidifying his position as one of the most sought-after artists today. This is an exciting time to present the sale with 2025 being the year to celebrate Hockney’s origins and legacy, marked by the monumental retrospective exhibition held at Foundation Louis Vuitton (David Hockney 25, Paris) and Hockney’s hometown Bradford being the UK City of Culture 2025. We are delighted to hold the auction alongside our particularly strong Fine Prints & Multiples sale, which showcase the very best of printmaking in all forms with highly desirable editions by Picasso, Warhol and Hirst.”