David Hockney R.A. (British, born 1937)
The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) – 19 February
iPad drawing in colours, 2011, on wove paper, signed, dated and numbered 17/25 in pencil, the full sheet, framed

Sheet 1400 x 1050mm (55 x 41 1/2in)
Footnotes:
The iPad drawings that constitute The Arrival of Spring series by David Hockney might have been received at first with a hint of suspicion when they were introduced in the Royal Academy A Bigger Picture blockbuster exhibition in 2012. Some questioned the choice of the iPad as an artistic tool, others complained about the digital rendering, yet all were taken aback by David Hockney's ability to revolutionise landscape paintings at this stage of his career, embracing the digital revolution of the 21st century.

Just over ten years later, The Arrival of Spring iPad drawings have become some of the most instantly recognisable and highly sought-after works in the artist's oeuvre. They have come to define the David Hockney of the noughties, celebrating the Yorkshire landscape by depicting the impact of the incoming Spring from January to June 2011.

As an eager exponent of drawing first on an iPhone then on an iPad, David Hockney proved that digital advances were not to be feared but celebrated, praising the iPad as 'a fantastic medium for landscape', helping to capture the rapid changes of light better than any other medium could allow.

The strength of these works is also in how they inscribe themselves within an important history of landscape paintings, one especially dear to British art. Constable, Monet, Turner, Claude, Spencer or Van Gogh come to mind and their approach to nature continues to impact an artist who, after many years spent in the Californian sun, became fascinated by the spectacle of the changing seasons, and the English Spring in particular.

As such, Hockney further enhances his position as one of the most important artists of our time, continuously challenging the viewers and artworld's expectations of landscape paintings, pushing the boundaries of creation and medium, making art a welcome field for all. The queues to go and experience the first exhibition of his iPad drawings amongst paintings and videos at the Royal Academy in 2012, and the enthusiastic responses said it all.

We are thrilled to present the following three works from The Arrival of Spring series in this sale. Each beautifully capturing the landscape, light, and colours of Hockney's beloved birth county, Yorkshire, slowly waking up to Spring. A season many now associate with Hockney's later work. Here, art and nature complement each other at their best, in works that have become just as historically relevant to art in the 21st century as those of Constable and Turner.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: AR
AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.

In very good original condition. In the original frame as purchased from Galerie Lelong, Paris, with their label at the back of the frame. Unexamined outside of the frame, the full sheet visible within the frame.