Sunday, 23rd November 2008

 

Hirst proves art market is still golden

Damien Hirst, the British contemporary super-artist, last night defied critics with a record £70.5m ($126m) Sotheby's auction dedicated solely to his own work.

Despite concerns that his work has become overpriced and over-hyped, Hirst far outstripped the top estimate of £62m. The sale continues Tuesday night with 167 more lots to sell. Sotheby's predicts another £36m could be raised.

The sale is unprecendented because Hirst is working directly with Sotheby’s without dealers collecting their customary fee.

Damien Hirst said: “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.”

The star lot of the sale was The Golden Calf, an 18-carat, gold-plated bullock in formaldehyde crowned with a Carrara marble plinth, which realised £10.3m a record for a work by Hirst.

Other top-sellers were The Kingdom, a tiger shark in formaldehyde, which sold for £9.5m, and Fragments of Paradise which made £5m.

Simon Mobey of Chubb Insurance, an insurer of the ultra-wealthy, said: "Despite the financial markets being in turmoil and fears of a recession, yesterday's auction proved that there are still plenty with money to spend. We see no sign of a slowdown in spending, but their buying patterns do suggest that funds are diverting into more tangible, safer goods like art, jewellery and cars. We've insured more £1 million classic cars and diamond rings this year than in the past. As well as bringing enjoyment, these investments could well be the pension funds of the future."

Tags: Damien Hirst , Sotheby’s

Brummel

Headline

Mayfair goes Modern

Sebastian + Barquet, a three-year old design gallery based in New York and Chelsea, is opening a new gallery showing museum quality pieces in Mayfair next month, the first in London to focus on international modernism from the 1940s to the 1960s. Its opening exhibition is dedicated to American modernist design and is curated by celebrated architect Eric Parry.

Rich Monitor

Ecclestone's fortune could halve following divorce

Bernie Ecclestone, the billionaire owner of Formula One, could slip to 60th on the Sunday Times Rich List following a divorce from his Croatian wife Slavica, who is tipped to get half of his £2.4bn fortune.

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