September, 2026

September is when the salerooms come back from the summer, and this year they came back after the strongest first half since 2022. The month's biggest surprises came from collections and objects with a documented history, offered at estimates low enough to draw competition. The fairs were steady and cautious.

Hockney in London

For UK owners, the most useful sale of the month was a single-artist David Hockney auction in London on 19 September, three months after his death. It offered 77 lots, mostly prints, and 75 sold. Of those, 58 made more than their high estimate, and only four fell short of their low one. With buyer's premium, the sold lots came to just over £2 million. The estimates for the whole sale had added up to between £1 million and £1.5 million.

The strongest competition was below the top of the price range. Two prints from the Moving Focus series made £141,900 each: An Image of Gregory, estimated at £50,000 to £70,000, and Tyler Dining Room, at £40,000 to £60,000. Dog Etching No. 5, from the 1998 Dog Wall set, made £54,180 against £20,000 to £30,000.

At the top, prices stayed close to their estimates. Autour de la maison, été made the highest price of the day, £193,500, inside its £150,000 to £200,000 range. Lithographic Water Made of Lines, Crayon, and a Blue Wash made £154,800 against £100,000 to £150,000. The extra competition so far is for the editions that most collectors can afford, which is why it matters whether a framed Hockney is an edition at all. Our page on telling an edition from a poster explains what to check.

Single owners, strong histories

Elsewhere, single-owner collections and pieces with a documented history went well past their estimates. In New York, all 181 Japanese woodblock prints in a Hiroshige collection assembled over fifty years found buyers, for a total of $6,991,616. One of them, Plum Estate, Kameido, made $358,400 against an estimate of $60,000 to $100,000. During Asia Week, a Chinese huanghuali daybed made $3.17 million against $120,000 to $180,000.

In Paris on 15 September, Hommage à Böcklin, a unique bronze console Diego Giacometti made for François and Carole Rochas in 1980, sold from their collection for about $4.6 million, above its estimate of €2 million to €3 million. In London on 17 September, Johnny Marr's guitar collection made £3,649,280. The 1982 Rickenbacker he played throughout his time in the Smiths made £358,400, more than four times its high estimate.

The fairs

Frieze Seoul, from 2 to 5 September, was the largest edition so far, with 133 galleries and more than 70,000 visitors. Its top reported sale was a 1971 painting by Yoo Youngkuk at ₩2.2 billion to ₩2.5 billion, about $1.6 million to $1.85 million. That is the highest price reported for a Korean artist at the fair since it began in 2022.

Galleries at the Armory Show in New York, which opened on 24 September, reported steady sales on the first day, led by a Joan Mitchell painting for more than $2 million.

At the British Museum

The Bayeux Tapestry went on show at the British Museum on 10 September, on loan from France. It is back in England for the first time since it was made nearly 1,000 years ago, and stays until 11 July 2027. Tickets to the end of December have sold out. The next release, for January to March, is on 21 October.

October

Frieze London and Frieze Masters open in The Regent's Park on 14 October. That evening Dog Painting 17, Hockney's 1995 portrait of his dachshund Stanley asleep on a cushion, is offered in London with an estimate of £1.5 million to £2.5 million. None of the dog paintings has been to auction before. In Paris on 22 October, Monet's Iris, painted in 1924–25 and never before shown in public, could set a French auction record for a painting. It is estimated at €22 million to €30 million.

What it means if you are selling

The work that went furthest in September came from a single owner or with a clear history, and it was estimated low enough that more than a couple of bidders thought they had a chance. How a work is estimated and when it is offered shape what it makes almost as much as the work itself does. Both are agreed before the consignment is signed, and choosing the sale is part of what we do for sellers.

If you own a Hockney print, our Hockney valuation page explains what we look at first. For anything else, start with art valuation. Neither commits you to selling.