Atleast Someone is making millions

Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, Damien Hirst auction at Sotheby's London

Damien Hirst auction at Sotheby's surpassed the 65million target he had set himself for the first day of his two day sale. One of the first items under the hammer made double its estimate of £4million-£6million. The Kingdom is a shark in formaldehyde eventually sold for £9.5million. The Golden Calf, said to be the highest of the sale with an estimate of £8million-£12million, sold for £10.3million. The Black Sheep with the Golden Horn, another animal in formaldehyde, sold for £2.6million.

Highlights on Tuesday included The Dream, a foal in formaldehyde inside a steel and glass tank which sold for 2.3 million pounds, and a butterfly piece called Reincarnated, for 1.6 million, more than twice its 700,000 pound top estimate.

After the two day sale Damien Hirst had set a new record, his work fetched some 111 million pounds (198 million dollars, 140 million euros). The auction, entitled "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever," broke new ground as the first time an artist has sold a body of work directly, bypassing art galleries who charge commission of up to 50 percent of the sale price. It also smashed the record for a sale dedicated to one artist, Sotheby's said, beating the 20 million dollars for 88 works by Pablo Picasso sold in 1993.

It proved there is no shortage of art buyers even in the current economic gloom, which hit new depths after the collapse of US investment giant Lehman Brothers plunged the financial markets into turmoil.

At the end of the sale Hirst, 43, said, "I'm totally exhausted and amazed that my art is selling while banks are falling. I guess it means that people would rather put their money into butterflies than banks - seems like a better world today to me."

"The sale has broken major new ground and set several new and important benchmarks... Beautiful Inside My Head Forever is undoubtedly the sale of the century to date," said Sotheby's managing director Patric Van Maris.

The world's most talked-about artist said afterwards: "I think the market is bigger than what anyone knows. I love art and this proves I'm not alone and the future looks great for everyone."

Alan Cristea, a dealer,in orignal and contemporary prints said, "The sale was unprecedented but I'm not concerned it will change much. I represent a lot of artists, but only a few artists, if any could do what Damien has done. "Damien's celebrity factor helps prices soar. It was good for the market that the sale did well as it could have eroded confidence. But it won't set a huge precedent and we won't see prices doubling in the next round of auctions now that the Hirst sale did well."

Sotheby's

AFP

Times Online