British artist Damien Hirst has set a record after a two-day sale of his work fetched 111 million ($A250million), auction house Sotheby's says.
''We are very, very happy,'' a spokesman said yesterday after the end of the auction in London, which initially aimed to top $A146 million for the artist famous for embalming animals in formaldehyde.
The auction, titled Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, broke new ground as the first time an artist has sold a body of work directly, bypassing art galleries which routinely charge a commission of anything up to half the sale price.
Hirst's work also smashed the record for a sale dedicated to one artist, Sotheby's said, beating the $US20 million for 88 works by Pablo Picasso, sold in 1993.
And 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.
The first day of the Hirst sale on Monday raked in $A159 million, much of that sum going on The Golden Calf, which sees Hirst return to the style that made his name and put a real calf in a tank of formaldehyde, adding 18-carat gold hooves and horns and a gold disc on its head. Wealthy Russian art lovers were said to be among the bidders for that piece.
It had been expected to fetch between $A18 million and $A27million but sold for $A23.2million, establishing a record for a Hirst work at auction.
Fifty-four lots were sold on Monday and another 80 found buyers yesterday morning, raising a further $A55 million, with the afternoon's sales still to come.
Highlights of yesterday's first session included The Dream a foal in formaldehyde inside a steel and glass tank which sold for $A5.2million.
Another was a butterfly piece called Reincarnated, which fetched $A3.6million, more than twice the top estimate for its sale price ($A1.6million).
Hirst said after Monday's proceedings, ''I think the market is bigger than anyone knows. I love art, and this proves I'm not alone and the future looks great for everyone.''
Art expert Charles Dupplin said the auction marked a good day for the art market.
''It's another landmark, an astounding day for the art market in a year that has seen many long-standing records demolished, despite the gloomy world economy.''
Hirst, 43, is already one of the world's best-selling modern artists, but Sotheby's said the unconventional auction and 11-day pre-sale exhibition which attracted 21,000 visitors had clearly paid off.
Sotheby's specialist Cheyenne Westphal said, ''The auction and exhibition have very clearly broadened the marketplace for Damien Hirst's work, which is a very significant accomplishment.'' Last year the artist, who works with a team of about 200, sold a platinum skull encrusted with 8601 diamonds for 50 million ($A112.6 million) in a private sale. It is thought to be the world's most expensive piece of contemporary art.
Not everyone was happy with this week's auction. The Stuckist art movement, which promotes figurative art as opposed to conceptual art, said buyers were mad to buy Hirst's work at such prices.
Stuckist co-founder Charles Thomson said, ''It's quite obvious that the art world has gone stark raving bonkers.''
Hirst put 223 of his new works, worth an estimated $A221 million, under the hammer at one of the world's biggest auction houses.
Less than five minutes into Monday's auction, the first lot had exceeded its estimated price by $A788,000. A little while later, one of his trademark creations a tiger shark pickled n formaldehyde and titled The Kingdom sold for $A21.6million after 10 minutes of frenzied activity by two determined telephone bidders. The lot, which had been expected to fetch about $A11.25million, beat the previous record for a work in formaldehyde by $A17.6 million, and generated a round of applause when the auctioneer banged his gavel.
Within half an hour of the sale opening, Hirst had earned $A31.5million from eight of his creations putting an end to speculation about whether he could pull off the big gamble on the night.
Hirst's sale was an all-ticket affair limited to 656 specially selected clients, arguably making a mockery of the British artistis attempt to democratise the sale of his work.
But it was not just history in the making, it was also theatrical spectacle.
The sale room in New Bond Street was filled to capacity, with the auction relayed on video screens and auxiliary auctioneers on standby.
Record numbers of auction catalogues were sold as memorabilia for $A115 apiece, rather than the usual $A65.
Hirst had admitted to having nightmares about the risks of taking his art straight to the punters and cutting out his gallery's commission fees.
He said recently, ''I imagine it going, 'Lot nine no bids. Lot 10 still no bids.''' AFP, Independent
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