Sotheby's London landmark two-day auction of new works by Damien Hirst realizes £111.4 million The historic two-day Beautiful Inside My Head Forever sale concluded in London having realized the remarkable sum of £111,464,800 (US$200,752,179/140,160,487)
prices over their high estimates
Of the bidders registered in the sale, 16% were new to Sotheby's and 35% were new to the
Contemporary Art department.
The average sold lot value was £1.3 million representing the third highest average sold lot value for
a sale of Contemporary Art at Sothebys London.
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 Sothebys 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$7,900,000-11,850,000 )
4
Fragments of Paradise (lot 51) stainless steel and glass with manufactured diamonds, made
£5,193,250 (6,540,876 / US$ 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 (3,296,415/US$4,721,257) more than double the high
estimate of £800,000-1,200,000 ( 1,020,000-1,520,000/US$ 1,580,000-2,370,000)
The Black Sheep with Golden Horn, (lot 9): made £2,617,250 (3,296,415/US$4,721,257)
Day Sale
Statistics:
Estimate range: No of lots offered: Lots sold as a percentage of lots offered:
£0-100,000 88 100%
£100,000-£1 million 76 96%
£1-2 million 1 100%
£2-4 million 2 100%
The Day Sale realised £40,919,700 £7 million over the high estimate for the Day Sale (est. £25-
36 million).
The morning session was 100% sold by lot and value.
In the entire Day Sale, only 3 lots failed to find a buyer.
76.8% of the lots sold for above their high estimates.
The Day Sale was 98.2% by lot and 98.4% sold by value the highest sold through rate and sold
by value rate of any Sothebys London Day Sale of Contemporary Art.
The average lot value in the Day Sale was: £250,193 the highest average lot value for any Day
Sale of Contemporary Art at Sothebys London.
The auction saw 6 lots sell for more than £1 million and 11 lots sell for over $1 million.
Top lots:
The Dream (Lot 110): pony with horn in formaldehyde, sold for £2,337,250
(2,943,771/US$4,197,935) against a pre-sale estimate of £2-3 million.
Ascended (Lot 147): butterfly grid, made £2,281,250 (2,873,239/US$4,097,353 ), more than
four times its pre-sale low estimate (est. £500,000-700,000)
Unknown Pleasures (Lot 206): diamond cabinet, realised £1,665,250
(2,088,058/US$2,990,956) almost three times its high estimate (est. £400-600,000)
Reincarnated (Lot 117): butterfly grid, sold for £1,609,250 (2,026,853 /US$2,890,374)
against a pre-sale estimate of £500,000-700,000.
Works sold to benefit charities in the Evening and Day
