The Damien Hirst circus is over and was a great success. The first night of the Hirst auction raised about 70 million pounds and the second day raised 40,919,700 GBP, which works out to be about $200 million USD in 2 days.

I don’t care what we think of his art.. love it or hate it.. Damien Hirst is a genius! He makes Andy Warhol look like a hippy with no job or credit card.

Warhol said “Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” If Andy was right, Damien Hirst is the greatest artist of all time as he is without doubt the best business artist alive.

I usually only get 15 or 20 people each day looking for “Hirst” on Art News Blog, but on the 16th of September there were 515 people searching for the British artist. Quite a few searched for “Hurst” too. There was even a few people looking for Damien Hearst.
>> Sotheby’s Art Auctions, Damien Hirst News

Damien Hirst may have a pile of unsold artworks sitting in a gallery and Robert Hughes may think his work is “tacky,” but there’s still plenty of rich collectors willing to bet their millions on the British artist. Financial crisis and all, Hirst still sets records.

The first night of the much talked about Damien Hirst auction (Beautiful Inside my Head Forever) made about £70 million, which is 8 million pounds above the high estimate by Sotheby’s.

Traditional galleries of major artists worldwide must be feeling a little nervous after the Hirst auction success. Very few artists could pull off something as grand as Damien Hirst, but I don’t think we have seen the last of artists dealing directly with auction houses.

Here’s a few lots from the Hirst auction..

The Kingdom (lot 5, Evening sale)
tiger shark, glass, steel, silicone and formaldehyde
solution with steel plinth
214 by 383.6 by 141.8cm.
executed in 2008
Sotheby’s Estimate
£ 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
€ 5,060,000-7,590,000
US$ 7,900,000-11,850,000
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium: 9,561,250 GBP

The Golden Calf (lot 13, Evening Sale)
calf, 18 carat gold, glass, goldplated steel, silicone and
formaldehyde solution with Carrara marble plinth
398.9 by 350.5 by 167.6cm
executed in 2008
Sotheby’s Estimate
£ 8,000,000-12,000,000
€ 10,120,000-15,180,000
US$ 15,800,000-23,690,000
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium: 10,345,250 GBP

Aurothioglucose (lot 7, Evening Sale)
household gloss and enamel
paint on canvas
172.7 by 274.3cm.
executed in 2008
Sotheby’s Estimate
£ 400,000-600,000
€ 510,000-760,000
US$ 790,000-1,190,000
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium: 668,450 GBP

>> Sotheby’s Art Auctions, Damien Hirst News