Art News: Coveted Prints in 2026, Including Munch Lithograph Prices

Most prints by the best-known artists sell at auction for between £5,000 and £100,000, and where a print lands in that range depends more on which print it is than on whose name is on it. The clearest public record of the market this year is Phillips' London print sales: its Editions sale in January, its Editions evening sales on 4 June and 17 September, its first Editions: Modernism sale on 17 September, and a sale of 77 prints by David Hockney on 19 September. Every price below comes from those sales and includes the buyer's premium, the auction house's fee on top of the hammer price, so the seller receives less. Our guide to auction fees explains the difference.

At a glance

Artist	Lowest in these sales	Highest in these sales
Banksy	£9,675	£116,100
David Hockney	£645	£193,500
Andy Warhol	£1,677	£193,500
Damien Hirst	£9,030	£77,400
Keith Haring	£9,675	£58,050
Bridget Riley	£21,930	£49,020
Pablo Picasso (prints)	£4,128	£180,600
Henri Matisse	£5,805	£28,380
Edvard Munch	£4,902	£51,600

Edvard Munch's lithographs

Edvard Munch made his best-known prints in Berlin and Paris in the 1890s, and the lithographs of those years are the heart of his market. At Phillips in September an 1895 Madonna, signed, in the first of its seven states and one of a few impressions Munch trimmed to the image himself, made £51,600. In June The Alley, also of 1895 and signed, from an edition of about 100, made £24,510 against an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000.

His etchings and drypoints sell for less. In January a signed drypoint, Young Woman in Dark Dress, made £5,418, and the etching Lübeck £4,902, more than twice its top estimate. With Munch, the state, the paper, the signature and whether a print was made in his lifetime decide the price, and impressions printed after his death are worth far less. Bonhams offers more of his prints in its Northern Light sale in London on 27 October, listed in our guide to what's on this week. Our review of five years of Munch print prices covers his market since 2021 and how the provenance of a Munch print is checked.

Edvard Munch, The Brooch. Eva Mudocci, 1903, lithograph. Another impression sold for $226,800 in New York in October 2024. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Banksy

Banksy's market sits squarely in the band. In June, Flag (Silver) made £9,675, Rude Copper £12,900, Flying Copper £19,350, Love Is in the Air £24,510, Applause £28,380 and Morons £36,120. Banksquiat (Black) made £70,950 and Gangsta Rat (Dark Grey) £116,100. In September an unsigned Girl with Balloon, numbered 397 of 600, made £109,650 against an estimate of £60,000 to £80,000; there is also a signed edition of 150, which sells for more. Every Banksy print needs a certificate from Pest Control, the artist's authentication body, before an auction house will sell it. Our Banksy price calculator gives a guide for each title.

David Hockney

The Hockney sale sold 75 of its 77 lots and showed his whole range in one afternoon. Plates from his illustrated books made a few thousand pounds: one of the 1966 Cavafy etchings £3,870, and plates from The Blue Guitar, of 1977, £1,290 to £2,838. His lithograph portraits of friends from the 1970s made £3,612 to £15,480, and Snow, from The Weather Series, £54,180. Prints of his iPad drawings, from A Bigger Book and My Window, made £29,670 to £33,540 each, and Untitled No. 19, from The Yosemite Suite, £77,400.

At the top, An Image of Gregory and Tyler Dining Room, both from Moving Focus, made £141,900 each, Montcalm Interior £116,100, and Autour de la maison, été £193,500. Our Hockney valuation page covers his paintings and prints.

Andy Warhol

With Andy Warhol, the title decides the price. In September Kiku made £15,480, Cow £19,350, After the Party £25,800, a Daisy £33,540, Mao £36,120 and Sitting Bull £49,020. Rebel Without a Cause (James Dean) and Queen Elizabeth II, from Reigning Queens, made £96,750 each. Mickey Mouse, from Myths, made £193,500 in both June and September, and Tomato, from Campbell's Soup I, £154,800 in June. A complete set of ten Ladies and Gentlemen made £109,650 in June. Prints stamped "Sunday B. Morning" are later copies, not by Warhol, and sell for a small fraction of these figures.

Lichtenstein, Haring and KAWS

Roy Lichtenstein's Red Lamp made £15,480 in September and Reflections on Crash £154,800. Keith Haring's prints ran from £9,675 for The King and £10,320 for a plate from Apocalypse to £19,350 for a sheet from Pop Shop I and £58,050 for Silence = Death. KAWS's THE MESSAGE made £28,380 in June and £18,060 in September.

Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin

Damien Hirst has made a great many editions, and most sell at the lower end. Three sheets from The Virtues made £9,030 each in September, after others from the series made £12,255 to £14,190 in June. His Mickey made £18,060 in June and £24,510 in September, Ellipticine £28,380 and Methamphetamine £30,960. The complete set of 13 signed screenprints of The Last Supper made £77,400. Two prints by Tracey Emin, Birds 2012 and Believe in Extraordinary, made £13,545 and £14,190 in June, about twice their estimates.

Kusama and Riley

A Pumpkin 2000 (Red) by Yayoi Kusama made £38,700 in June against an estimate of £20,000 to £30,000. Bridget Riley's screenprints were among September's strongest results: Fête made £21,930, Firebird £30,960 against an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000, and the series of five Untitled (Elongated Triangles), artist's proofs, £49,020.

Picasso, Matisse and the modern masters

The Modernism sale showed the masters of the early 20th century sitting in the same band. Pablo Picasso's early etchings from La Suite des Saltimbanques made £4,128 to £5,160, a plate from the Vollard Suite £28,380, and his lithograph Françoise £54,180. His colour linocuts led the sale: Portrait de Jacqueline au chapeau de paille multicolore made £45,150, Faunes et chèvre £70,950 and Le déjeuner sur l'herbe, d'après Manet I £180,600.

La nageuse dans l'aquarium, a plate from Henri Matisse's Jazz, made £28,380 against an estimate of £7,000 to £9,000. Joan Miró's prints made £5,418 to £33,540, and Marc Chagall's Roses et mimosa £21,930.

What decides where a print lands

The same names turn up at both ends of the band, so the artist is only the start. Five things do most of the work.

• The image. Warhol's Cow and his Mickey Mouse are both screenprints. One made £19,350 and the other £193,500.
• Signature and edition. Signed impressions, artist's proofs and small editions sell for more than unsigned impressions and large editions of the same image.
• Condition. Fading from sunlight, staining, creases and trimmed margins all reduce the price, and screenprint colours fade easily.
• Paperwork. A catalogue raisonné number, a certificate where the artist's studio issues one, and a record of where the print came from all help.
• Timing. Prices for the same print move from sale to sale. THE MESSAGE fell by more than a third between June and September.

Estimates are a guide, not a ceiling. An Image of Ken, from Hockney's Moving Focus, made £19,350 against an estimate of £3,000 to £5,000, while Banksy's Soup Can and Hockney's The Marriage did not sell.

If you own a print

Our review of the print market in 2026 looks at which artists rose and which stalled this year. If you own a print by any of the artists here and are thinking of selling, send us photographs of the front and the back, with any signature, number and label, for a free valuation. There is no obligation to sell, and we act for you rather than for the saleroom.

Cover: Edvard Munch, Two Women on the Shore, 1898, colour woodcut. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.