Comment: Hirst auction will be a bellwether for the art market and beyond
"The world's changing, ultimately I need to see where this road leads."
No, it's not a comment from a newly-unemployed hedge fund manager or leveraged finance banker but artist Damien Hirst explaining today why he will be selling new works at auction in September, rather than through a gallery.
The sale at Sotheby's on September 15 and 16 will be watched closely beyond the art world.
Just as Hirst's £50m diamond-encrusted skull, For The Love Of God, became an emblem of the excess and inevitable ending of the debt-fuelled boom, the September sale could signal the depth of the current market malaise.
The auction includes another potentially iconic work: The Golden Calf, a bull in formaldehyde, whose head is crowned by a solid gold disc and whose hooves and horns are cast in 18-carat, solid gold.
In the bible and Quran, the golden calf was an idol made to reassure the Israelites when Moses disappeared up Mount Sanai for 40 days and nights to receive the 10 commandments.
Neither God nor Moses was particularly impressed in this lack of faith and there were various reprisals on Moses' return from the mount. The moral of the story is often regarded as being that worshipping wealth will only get you in trouble.
The work is estimated to fetch between £8m and £12m - nobody can deny Hirst has a sense of humour to match his bank balance.
Of course, rather than selling at auction he could guarantee the price through a gallery. Hirst explained: "Although there is risk involved, I embrace the challenge of selling my work in this way."
Sotheby's, the art world and even financial markets will be hoping Hirst's risk pays off.
Investors and bankers will be back from summer holidays praying the worst is over. A disappointing result could dash their hopes.
Hirst's skull
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