A series of iPad drawings by artist David Hockney, depicting the Yorkshire Wolds, has sold for £6.2 million at auction.
The 17 prints, titled The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, were created in 2011 — six years after Hockney left Beverly Hills to settle in Bridlington.
The collection was auctioned earlier at Sotheby’s in London, achieving more than twice its estimated value.
Sotheby’s described the sale as the largest offering of Hockney’s iPad drawings ever brought to market, calling it an “exceptionally rare opportunity” for collectors.
The works came from a private collection, and the sale coincided with the Frieze art fair.
Hockney, now 88, began the series in January 2011, returning daily to various locations around Woldgate to capture the changing landscape through to spring.
He originally intended to paint outdoors using a traditional easel but, as Sotheby’s noted, found it “a bit difficult when you are standing there in winter,” prompting him to use his iPad instead.
The complete series was first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 2012.
Born in Bradford, Hockney spent many of his school holidays working on farms in East Yorkshire.
During the 1990s, he began visiting the region more frequently to see his mother and later to spend time with his close friend, Jonathan Silver, after his cancer diagnosis.
