Could art make for a sounder investment than brick and mortar in times of gloom?
An unprecedented auction of new works on Sept. 15 and 16 by the world's most expensive living artist, Damien Hirst, could shed some light on the question.
The two-day sale, organized by London auction-house Sotheby's marks the first big test of endurance for the Hirst brand since the artist sold a diamond encrusted skull for $100 million last year. Entitled 'Beautiful Inside My Head Forever,' the auction will feature 223 new works, including several of the pickled animals in glass tanks, butterfly paintings and medicine cabinets that have propelled Hirst to worldwide fame.
The sale is expected to make Hirst a bundle, but the event has been the buzz of the art world this fall for another reason: it could mark a pivotal point in the way the market operates.
With this direct sale to the public, Hirst is cutting out the middleman -- the galleries that usually take roughly 40% of a piece's price tag -- and potentially rewriting the rules of how the art world does business. Until now any work under two years old was understood to be the preserve of galleries.
Post new comment