Name: Flowers Apple And Pear On Table
Brand: David Hockney
Rating: 5 (231 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of David Hockney’s Flowers Apple And Pear On Table (signed) is estimated to be worth between £13,500 and £21,000. This digital print, created in 1986, has shown consistent value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 4%. This work has an auction history of six total sales since its entry to the market in April 2012. Over the past five years, the hammer price has ranged from £12,373 in October 2023 to £22,516 in April 2023. The average annual growth rate of this work is -5%. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 59.

Auction Date

Auction House

Location

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

October 2023

Christie's New York

United States

April 2023

Bukowskis, Stockholm

Sweden

September 2017

Sotheby's Online

United Kingdom

May 2013

Christie's New York

United States

July 2012

Bonhams New Bond Street

United Kingdom

April 2012

Sotheby's New York

United States

Meaning & Analysis

Hockney began experimenting with digital prints – and consequently revolutionised his practice – when he bought his first office photocopier in 1986. Having previously worked mostly in etching and lithography Hockney was able to enjoy a newfound independence in the use of this machine which did away with the need for an assistant. By layering sketches and textures and swapping the colour ink cartridges as he went along, Hockney was able to produce vibrant and complex artworks which would have taken hours to perfect in a traditional print workshop. Speaking of the freedom offered by this new technique the artist said, “I can work with great speed and responsiveness. In fact this is the closest I’ve ever come in printing to what it’s like to paint: I can put something down, evaluate it, alter it, revise it, reexamine it, all in a matter of seconds.” In Flowers, Apple And Pear On Table, Hockney updates and subverts the traditional genre of the still life, playing with planes and perspective to give us a tilting and dynamic vision of a table upon which sit the classic elements of a still life – fruit and flowers – and yet the effect is strikingly modern.