Starving artists everywhere just died a little inside…
Proving that some industries are impervious to market forces (economic downturn or not) renowned British artist Damien Hirst made a whopping $198 million at auction yesterday. Conducted by Sotheby’s of London, the groundbreaking auction also broke the selling record for a one artist auction.
Hirst’s show entitled “Beautiful In My Head Forever” featured his trademark formaldehyde works including “The Golden Calf” a 600kg bullock whose hooves and horns were cast in solid 18-carat gold. The calf (pictured) also has a solid gold disc mounted to its head, and is encased in a gold plated box which is mounted on a bed of marble. The work sold for an extraordinary £10.3 million.
Benefiting from an 11 day preview exhibition in which 20,000 people viewed the works as well as eschewing conventional galley sale Hirst merely said ‘the future looks great for everyone’.