Damien Hirst, who is equally loved and hated, has always embodied the over-the-top provocation of young British artists-controversial, unquestionable courage. Despite his market fluctuations in recent years, demand remains strong as the artist-entrepreneur has skillfully leveraged his reputation and brand. Hirst has produced an impressive range of works for all pockets, from disturbing museum works such as his infamous formaldehyde animals to glittering fossils of gold and petrol that are offered for resorts and casinos, as well as more approachable versions to entry-level collectors.
The popularity and infamousness of the UK perennial horrible It was obvious last month when the bandits crashed the blue Mercedes into the front window of Mayfair auction house. Police believe the dramatic entry is one of Hirst's works scheduled to hit in Phillips on Thursday, June 5, with an estimated value of £80,000. According to authorities, no arrests have been made, but investigations are underway.
Phillips London has once again appeared in an independent live sale, devoted entirely to Damien Hirst, showing off a key version of his career at various price points. “Damien Hirst remains one of the most influential and lovely artists of our time,” sales head Rebecca Tooby-Desmond told Observer. “The artist’s work market continues to show strong global demand, attracting mature collectors and a new generation of buyers, with collectors ranging from their 20s to the late 1980s.”
The sale is calibrated to the series, offering well-curated versions and unique works on paper that span Hirst’s enduring obsession with life, death, and resurrection – from early spotted etchings and prints of kaleidoscope butterflies to his recent paintings of cherry blossoms. The highlight is complete Where land meets the sea Series, released in Phillips in 2023, virtuethe best of his famous eight parts Cherry blossomsThe exhibition debuted in 2021 at the contemporary Cartier Pour l'Art in Paris. The exhibition (the first major solo exhibition in France) was a strategic attempt to restart his market, and later headed to the National Arts Centre in Tokyo, marking his first Solo outing in Japan.
Although Hurst's market has shaken in recent years, he is very good at focusing interests whether by jumping into the NFTS or planning his posthumous career. In July 2021, Hirst launched a collection of 10,000 NFTs and corresponding physical artworks, giving collectors the option to keep NFTs or swap them for physical works. In the trim of that year, Hurst burned down 4,851 physical works related to NFT with a dramatic self-destructive gesture, which questioned the value of art’s physical and digital forms while facing questions of authenticity, originality and monetary value.
Damien Hirst is designing a post-death exercise that has been measured for hundreds of years
As he approached his 60th birthday in just a few days, Damien Hirst announced a bold and branded plan to continue producing new works within 200 years of his death. He is preparing 200 handwritten notebooks, each filled with detailed concepts to make it executed long after he left. Through this move, Hurst is more than just trying to surpass his peers. His goal is to transcend the art world itself and push the Warhol factory model to its most extreme, most occasionally conclusion: a permanent iconic machine.
Like Warhol, Hirst has long been addicted to death: ironic, popular and existential. Below formaldehyde and gloss, people ask more deeply about the beautiful nature, the cycle of time and the absurdity inherent in human feelings, and emit it with a blink and scalpel.
Hirst, described as the richest British artist, rose from £8,000 to £9,600 from £8,000 between 2021 and 2022, marking the highest point in his recent market run. This range also reflects the location of the heat: in the lower price bands, his output is still the easiest to obtain. In 2024, Hirst's full auction sales reached about $26.6 million in painting, sculpture and versions, boosting him to the top 100 in 2025's Hiscox artists in the top 16th to 12 places, keeping him firmly at the top. His highest auction results remain Lullaby Springa steel cabinet filled with thousands of hand-painted pills, made £9.6 million ($19.2 million) in London in Sotheby's London in June 2007.
See: What needs to be known about the next generation of museum customers
Last October, Phillips held a similar online-only auction price of over £1 million, reaching a 95% sale rate – indicating that the artist's strength in the print sector accounts for £2.4 million in sales.
The auction is scheduled for June 5 and will kick off Phillips Edition Week, which includes prints and multiples from Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Francis Bacon, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol and William Kentridge, as well as contemporary stars like Yoshitomo Nara, Grayson Perry and Harland Miller. In the flash entry for sale: Banks Spend triple (gray) (2019), estimated at £100,000-150,000, Kate Moss: Original Color (2005), estimated at £70,000-90,000. Picasso appears Minotaure Aveugle Guidé Par Marie-Thérèse Aupigeon dans unenuitétoilée (EST. 60,000–80,000) and ceramics Vase AuDécor Pastel (EST. £10,000-15,000). Of course, Warhol (King of Printing Market) represents African elephant From his Endangered Species Series and a complete set of Lurid skull (1976), available for £60,000-80,000.
Phillips' Damien Hirst Auction opened on June 5 and June 5-6.
