Warhol & Hockney: Stars of the Editions Auction, Highlights - January 2023

Collectors gathered at Phillips London on the 18th and 19th January 2023 for an exciting and wide-ranging auction of print editions. With record prices achieved by Andy Warhol and David Hockney - soaring above their high estimates.

Also included in the auction were Damien Hirst, Banksy, Keith Haring, Harland Miller, Bridget Riley, and KAWS. Demand for these blue-chip superstars shows healthy and impressive growth, despite tightening financial conditions around the world. As tracked in our 2023 Print Market Report, the prints market is resilient one, offering exciting opportunity in the current climate.

Here are the highlights from the auction:

The Andy Warhol market continues to deeply establish itself as one of the most significant markets in terms of value and importance. Unsurprisingly, Queen Elizabeth II Royal Edition (F. & S. II.335A) was the star of the show, realising £289,800, sitting within its sizeable pre-sale estimate of £200,000-£300,000.

Also performing exceptionally, Warhol's Flowers (F. & S. II.66) achieved a record-breaking £163,800. The screen print fetched over triple its high estimate of £50,000, and exceeded the previous highest sale of the work at Sotheby's NY in October 2021, where it sold for $189,000 (£137,403).

Also smashing records, Warhol's Marilyn (F. & S. II.29) sold for a tremendous £157,500. Achieving almost double the pre-sale high estimate of £80,000, this record-breaking sale proves the popularity of Warhol's Marilyn works after his Shot Sage Blue Marilyn became the most expensive piece of 20th-century art ever sold - selling for an astonishing US$195 million (£158 million) at Christie’s NY.

The previous highest sale of Marilyn (F. & S. II.29) was achieved at Sotheby's NY on 21/04/2022, selling for $189,000 (£144,991), and the work was last sold at Sotheby's NY on 28/10/2022 for $138,600 (£119,568). Yesterday's superlative sale speaks to the significance of the series, with Marilyn (F. & S. II.23) holding the spot as the highest individual selling work within the series having gone for a realised price of £327,600 on 15/10/2022.

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With one of the largest market sizes in our 2023 Report, superseded only by Warhol, the David Hockney market continues to excel and his prints remain a stable investment. The Dog Wall - an assemblage of 14 prints - stole the show at Phillips. Selling for £327,600, the complete set exceeded its high estimate of £300,000, speaking to the popularity of Hockney's Dog Etchings.

Also smashing its top estimate was Lithograph Of Water Made Of Lines, A Green Wash, And A Light Blue Wash. With a pre-sale estimate of £70,000-£90,000, the lithograph achieved a whopping £214,200, well over double the high estimate. Alongside this, Pool Made With Paper And Blue Ink For Book realised a record-breaking £81,900, exceeding the pre-sale estimate of £20,000-£30-000 by a wide margin. These two impressive sales highlight the resilience of Hockney's market, and the particular popularity of his iconic Swimming Pools.

Unsurprisingly, Hockney's Arrival Of Spring series sparked particular attention at the Phillips Evening sale. These prints are vibrant and lively, taking some of Hockney's boldest iPad drawings to a grand scale. Achieving the highest price at Phillips was The Arrival Of Spring In Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 - 31 May No. 2, which sold for £214,200, well over its high estimate of £150,000. The only previous sale of this work was at Phillips London on 12/09/2019, where it realised £62,500 - showing the immense value growth of the print in the past four years.

Hockney's The Arrival Of Spring In Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 - 17 May also exceeded its pre-sale estimates. Realising £189,000, this was the first time that this particular work from the series had been sold at auction. Prints from the Arrival Of Spring series have all performed particularly well since 2017, as shown in our 5 Year Report, and yesterday's sale shows that there is no sign of slowing anytime soon.

Browse David Hockney prints and find out more about the Hockney market in our Ultimate Print Market Report.

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Sturdy and enduring, the Damien Hirst market proved stable at Phillips' Evening sale. Prints comfortably reached their pre-sale estimates, with certain works more than doubling their high estimate. Performing particularly well was Goodness, from Hirst's H6 The Aspects series, which realised £27,720. This exceeded the top estimate of £12,000 by more than double, proving the abiding popularity of the YBA.

Of course, the highlight of Hirst's sales was the complete set of H9 The Virtues. This collection of eight prints realised £88,200, surpassing its £80,000 top estimate. This impressive result testifies to the resilience of the Hirst market as we enter 2023.

Unsurprisingly, Hirst's Spots prints also performed well. In fact, all four Spots works exceeded their high pre-sale estimates, speaking to the quintessential nature of this series. Particularly popular was the Cocarboxylase woodcut, which fetched £28,980 - almost double its £15,000 top estimate.

Browse Damien Hirst prints and find out more about Hirst print's market in our Ultimate Print Market Report.

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Despite corrections to the Banksy market since 2021, the five Banksy prints sold at Phillips' Evening sale comfortably achieved and exceeded their pre-sale estimates. Stealing the spotlight once more was Banksy's Girl With Balloon, which realised £109,620, exceeding its top estimate of £90,000. The sale proves that this work, always one of the most quintessential to Banksy's oeuvre, has only increased in popularity since his great shredding stunt at Sotheby's in 2018.

Banksy's satirical Laugh Now performed exceptionally well, realising £75,600 and more than doubling its high pre-sale estimate of £35,000. This unsigned print was last seen at auction at SBI Art Auction on 29/10/2022, selling for JPY 9,545,000 (£55,733), and the highest result was achieved at Phillips HK, where it realised HK$882,000 (£84,309). This auction reflects similar prices to those achieved in 2020 - when we saw accelerated trades in the Banksy market. With these sizeable sales, we can see that Banksy's prints remain a viable investment as we enter 2023, and his market is beginning to reach maturity.

Browse Banksy prints and find out more about Banksy prints in our Ultimate Print Market Report.

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Download our complete 2023 Print Market Report here, to explore expert opinions on the prints and multiples market over the last five years.