Beautiful Inside My Head Forever smashes all pre-sale expectations and realises £70 million exhibition for Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, a major auction of new works by Damien Hirst at Sotheby’s realised £70,545,100/US$127,256,306/€88,851,244
News-Antique.com - Sep 22,2008 - LONDON, 15 SEPTEMBER, 2008 – In the wake of the enormous interest surrounding the 11-day
exhibition for Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, a major auction of new works by Damien Hirst at Sotheby’s,
unprecedented levels of pre-sale interest (the exhibition attracted no fewer than 21,000 viewers) translated
into heated bidding tonight in a sale that realised £70,545,100/US$127,256,306/€88,851,244 -- a sum
not only exceeding the high estimate (est. £43.2-62.3 million) for the evening sale, but topping the low
estimate for the entire two-day sale. The evening session ended to a sustained round of applause.
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!"
Cheyenne Westphal and Oliver Barker, Sotheby’s specialists in charge of the sale, said: “We want to thank
Damien Hirst for the trust he has placed in Sotheby’s. He has provided us with one of the great experiences of
our professional lives -- to work on this historic sale.”
They continued: “Tonight’s was an extraordinary one-off sale and unique event, following fast on the heels of a
similarly extraordinary pre-sale exhibition. Damien Hirst’s artwork and installation attracted crowds
unprecedented for Sotheby’s London. The auction and exhibition have very clearly broadened the market place
for Damien Hirst’s work, which is a very significant accomplishment. We had some remarkable successes this
evening and we look forward to seeing this unprecedented level of interest continue through the sales
tomorrow.”
Sale statistics:
• This evening’s sale comprised 56 lots, 54 of which sold during the auction (the remaining two in fact
sold before the sale closed), with 96% sold by value – the second highest sold by value rate ever
seen at a Sotheby’s London Contemporary Art auction.
• Tonight’s auction saw 3 lots sell for over £5 million and 18 lot sell for more than £1 million, with 2
lots selling for $10 million, 4 lots selling for over $5 million and 37 lots for more than $1 million.
Top lots:
• The Golden Calf (lot 13): calf, 18 carat gold, glass, goldplated steel, silicone and formaldehyde
solution with Carrara marble plinth, made £10,345,250 (€13,029,797/ US$18,661,796) –
establishing a new auction record for a work by the artist in sterling. (Previous record:
£9,652,000 / US$ 19,075098 for Lullaby Spring – established at Sotheby’s London, June,
2007)
• The Kingdom (lot 5): tiger shark, glass, steel, silicone and formaldehyde solution with steel plinth,
made £9,561,250 (€12,042,352/US$17,247,539) - more than double the high estimate of £4 -
6 million (€ 5,060,000-7,590,000 / US$7,900,000-11,850,000 )
3
• Fragments of Paradise (lot 51) stainless steel and glass with manufactured diamonds, made
£5,193,250 (€6,540,876 / US$ 9,368,104) – around five times the pre-sale estimate of £1-1.5
million.
• Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (lot 46): glass, stainless steel, fish, fish skeletons, acrylic, MDF, paint
and formaldehyde solution, sold for £2,953,250 (€3,719,605/$5,327,368)
• Memories of / Moments With You (lot 11): gold-plated steel and glass with manufactured
diamonds, made £2,617,250
