Damien Hirst (b. 1965) is a British Conceptual artist and part of the Young British Artists Movement that rose to prominence in the early 1990s. Hirst was born in Bristol in the UK and was raised in Leeds exclusively by his mother who encouraged his penchant for art.Hirst pursued a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, from 1986 to 1989. During this time, he conceived and curated “Freeze” a group exhibition of his works and that of his contemporaries which caught the attention of art collector and gallerist Charles Saatchi. In 1991, Saatchi became Hirst’s patron, offering to provide financial support to whatever the artist chose to produce. Death is a central theme in Hirst’s works — his assemblages of preserved, dead animals have been his most famous and fervently debated pieces. His first Saatchi-funded work was titled “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living,” a large installation piece featuring a preserved tiger shark in a large glass case. His works of dead animal displays, spin-art and spot paintings, have sold for extremely high prices. In 1995, Hirst received the prestigious Turner Prize given to contemporary British artists under 50.Some of his notable works are “Mother and Child Divided” (1993), a four-part sculpture of a bisected cow and calf; “For the Love of God” (2007), a human skull studded with 8,601 diamonds; while “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever” raised $198 million in 2008. Hirst is reputed to be the richest living artist to date.Here is a performance analysis of Hirst’s artworks in the auction market:1. Sales Trend in the Past 20 YearsThe artist achieved his highest ever sale in 2008 with sales totaling $266.2 million from 396 lots. In that year, Hirst’s “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever” auction marked a great performance for the artist, which made a sale total of $198 million from 218 items. The star items of the sale were “The Golden Calf” at $18.2 million that beat his previous auction record of $17.2 million for “Lullaby spring,” sold in June 21, 2007, and “The Kingdom,” which sold for £9.6 million ($17.1 million) — more than £3 million above its estimate.But after 2008, his sales dropped dramatically to $15.2 million in 2009 where only two of his works exceeded $1 million like: “Homage to a Government, The Dwelling Place” and “The Old Foolsparadise.” Between 2009 and 2017, his sales remained steady in the range of $15 to $30 million and most of his works were sold in the price band of $10,000 to $50,000.2. Volume of Artworks on Offer vs. Bought-in RateThe graph below indicates an increasing trend in terms of lots on offer in the past decade for the artist, which reached a peak of 558 lots in 2015. Even though 2015 and 2016 had highest volume of lots featuring in auctions for the artist, the bought-in rate registered were at an all-time high at 44 percent (in 2015) and 48 percent (in 2016). This goes to show that only about 52-56 percent artworks coming into auctions were getting sold.In 2017, the bought-in rate declined to 30.6 percent of 359 lots showcased at auctions. 3. Bought-ins by Auction HousesAn overall trend of the volume of artworks on offer, and the bought-in rates at the top three auction houses are shown below. The lots offered at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips was low compared with the other auction houses. In the past four years, the bought-in rates have shown a downward trend at the top three auction houses and reached 9 percent at both Christie’s and Phillips, whereas at Sotheby’s it was at 19 percent.4. Average and Median Sale Price Trend in the Past 20 YearsIn 2008, which was a record-setting year for the artist, both average and median price reached their peaks at $672,263 and $202,293.The average price remained very low after a spike in 2008 and reached its lowest at $68,639 in 2016 — where nearly half of his works remained unsold and also the works that sold never exceeded $1 million, except three: “Do You Know What I Like About You?” at $1.7 million, “Disintegration — The Crown of Life” at $1.1 million and “In Search of Nirvana” at $1 million.5. Highest-Priced ArtworksHirst’s top 3 paintings sold were at Sotheby’s.“The Golden Calf,” which is a cow in a tank of formaldehyde with golden hoofs and a golden crown, was his top-priced painting and sold for $18.5 million at Sotheby’s “Damien Hirst — Beautiful Inside My Head Forever” (Evening Sale) in London on May 15, 2008.“Lullaby spring,” a work of stainless steel and glass cabinet with painted cast pills, realized $17.1 million at Sotheby’s London on June 21, 2007. The work reminds us of the constancy of nature’s rebirth that has continued unabated for thousands of years.His third highest work was “The Kingdom,” a sculpture created in 2008, with tiger shark, glass, steel, silicone and formaldehyde solution with steel plinth, and fetched $17.1 million at Sotheby’s London on May 15, 2008.6. Price Band in Which His Works Have Sold in the Past 10 YearsMost (31 percent) of his works were sold in the range of $10,000 to $50,000 in the past decade and about 5 percent or 123 lots of his works have sold for over $1 million. 7. Where His Works Have Sold the Most in the Past 20 YearsIn terms of total sales, Sotheby’s leads with share of 61.8 percent of the artist; followed by Christie’s at 21.4 percent and then Phillips at 14.3 percent. In terms of volume, the artist seems to be selling the most, or 37.2 percent, at auction houses other than Christie’s, Phillips and Sotheby’s.Based on the geographical location of sales of his works, the United Kingdom leads with $430.4 million, followed by the United States at $165.7 million and China, Germany and France with a combined $9.2 million.8. Top Selling Auction Houses (since January)Since January, Sotheby’s is on top with sales totaling $6 million and next is Christie’s at $5.5 million, which is very near to Sotheby’s. Total sale to date (in 2018) for the artist is 14,885,737.http://www.blouinartinfo.comFounder Louise Blouin
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