Sotheby's 'The David Hockney Sale: The Arrival of Spring' Totals $8.35m

Sotheby's 'The David Hockney Sale: The Arrival of Spring' Totals $8.35m

3 min read  ·  17 Oct 2025

The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) - 19 February, 2011 by David Hockney sold for $1.02m.
Image courtesy of Sotheby's

The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) - 19 February, 2011 by David Hockney sold for $1.02m. Image courtesy of Sotheby's

A work by David Hockney, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'The David Hockney Sale: The Arrival of Spring' on October 17 in London.

  • The sale totaled $8.35m (£6.21m), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

"It was a wonderful Spring," Hockney told Martin Gayford, recalling east Yorkshire in 2011. "And we always planned to record it; I just didn’t realise the iPad would be part of it then."

Snapshot of the sale

  • 17 works sold totaling $8.35m.
  • Estimates totaled: $2.35m (low) and $3.52m (high), excluding premiums.
  • The sell-through rate was 100%, so a white-glove sale.

The star lot was: David Hockney, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) - 19 February, 2011 (2011), which sold for $1.02m, 533% above its $161,800 low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded once in the past.

The outperformer sold for 533% above its low estimate. David Hockney, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) - 19 February, 2011 (2011), sold for $1.02m ($161,800 low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded once in the past.

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

  • 17 works, or 100%, sold above their high estimate.
  • 0 works, or 0%, sold within their low and high estimate.
  • 0 works, or 0%, sold below their low estimate.
  • 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

17 works were backed by guarantees, including: David Hockney, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) - 28 April (2011). It sold for $938,800, 480% above its $161,800 low estimate.. It has been traded once in the past.

Works that did not sell

0 works were bought-in.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.


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