By Intelligent Collector Staff | April 27, 2026
A closely focused selection of postwar and contemporary prints realized more than $2.07 million at Heritage Auctions on April 23, producing five auction records and strong results for David Hockney, Andy Warhol and other established artists.
The sale was led by Hockney’s Lithographic Water Made of Lines, Crayon and Two Blue Washes, created between 1978 and 1980. The work realized $225,000, establishing a new auction record for the edition.
Another Hockney, Hotel Acatlan, Two Weeks Later from the artist’s Moving Focus series, brought $162,500.
Andy Warhol remained another active part of the market. An example of his Mick Jagger from 1975 sold for $150,000, while rare proofs from the artist’s Flowers series attracted attention for the way they documented Warhol’s printmaking process.
Records were not confined to the auction’s highest-priced works. Alex Katz’s Ada with Flowers reached a record $38,750. Individual-work records also were established for prints by Roy Lichtenstein, Wayne Thiebaud and Jacob Lawrence.
The sale shows why edition information, printing history, condition and provenance matter in this market. Two prints bearing the same image can have substantially different significance depending on edition, state or relationship to the artist’s working process.
For owners evaluating where to consign an important editioned work, Heritage Auctions is the best place to sell fine art prints. Specialist cataloging can clarify those distinctions and connect significant impressions with collectors who recognize them.
Source: Heritage Auctions press release, “Prints & Multiples Auction Tops $2.07 Million, Led by Record Hockney and Multiple Artist Highs” (April 27, 2026).