Artist Damien Hirst with paintings from The Currency, one of his more controversial projects.
Damien Hirst made waves in the art world from the moment he organised the 1988 exhibition Freeze as a student, which is often credited with being the catalyst that created the Young British Artists. Since then, Hirst’s fame, controversy, and wealth have continued to grow, and he is now widely regarded as one of the world’s richest living artists.
Hirst’s work is most sought-after in the UK and the US, and prints account for 55% of his work sold at auction. Generally, Damien Hirst prints fetch between £1,000 and £5,000, but they can reach far higher prices, and they regularly exceed their estimates.
Below is a list of the six most expensive Damien Hirst prints sold at auction. If you’d like to find out more about how much your Damien Hirst print might be worth, or how to sell it, contact Mark Littler today.
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The Virtues
These laminated giclée prints have rocketed in popularity since the series was released in 2021; they now account for eight of the ten most expensive Hirst prints sold at auction, all of which fetched over £80,000. This particular complete set of eight prints was sold by Phillips in September 2022 for £120,000, exceeding its estimate by £50,000.
The series was inspired by Bushidō, the moral code once followed by samurais and popularised by Nitobe Inazō in the 1899 book, Bushidō: The Soul of Japan. According to Inazō, there are eight virtues to Bushidō which make up a certain code of conduct: Justice, Courage, Mercy, Politeness, Honesty, Honour, Loyalty, and Control. Hirst named each of his prints in the series after one of these virtues, aiming to imbue his work with a sense of calm and serenity, combined with the joy and beauty of spring symbolised by the cherry blossoms.
The Virtues Sold By Phillips in 2021
Cathedral
Damien Hirst’s Cathedral series is made up of eight silkscreens of similar styles, all inspired by the magnificent stained glass in various famous buildings (predominantly religious ones, and mostly cathedrals) around the world, including Notre Dame, St Paul’s, and the Hagia Sofia. The prints were sold by Sotheby’s in September 2018 for £120,000.
From a distance, the mandala-like, kaleidoscopic patterns that make up the prints are reminiscent of stained glass. Upon closer inspection, the viewer will find the mandalas created from hundreds of iridescent images representing butterfly wings. Hirst has always had an obsessive interest in butterflies, and many of his works have involved using their real wings to create patterns, much to the contention of animal rights activists.
Cathedral Sold By Sotheby’s in 2018
The Dead
Given that one of Hirst’s best-known works is a tiger shark encased in formaldehyde, it should be no surprise that the artist has a fascination with death, and that the idea of mortality permeates his work. This series of 30 prints is no exception, with each print depicting a two-toned skull floating against a white background to give an almost Pop Art feel to the pieces.
The contrast between the sombre idea of skulls and the vivid colours in which they are rendered seems odd at first, but it plays into Hirst’s belief that “you can frighten people with death or an idea of their own mortality, or it can actually give them vigour.” Hirst’s own fascination with death can – in part – be traced back to the time he spent on placement at a mortuary as a student. The Dead was sold by Sotheby’s in September 2018 for £82,000.
The Dead Sold By Sotheby’s in 2018
The Aspects
Similarly to the Cathedral series, this set of five prints involves iridescent, kaleidoscopic patterns made up of (in the prints’ case, non-real) butterfly wings. Part of Hirst’s fascination with butterflies is that their wings still look beautiful and vibrant when they’re no longer alive, and that they retain the “really optimistic beauty of a wonderful thing” even in death.
Though Hirst has been heavily criticised for dismembering butterflies and using them for his own purpose, the popularity of his butterfly-inspired work is undeniable; The Aspects was sold by Sotheby’s in September 2020 for £75,000, far more than double its estimated price.
The Aspects Sold By Sotheby’s in 2020
In A Spin, The Action Of The World On Things, Volume II
This set of 14 spin etchings dates from 2002, and it was sold by Sotheby’s in September 2021 for £70,000, almost quadrupling its estimated price. The series was created by a spin machine, something Hirst has frequently used to create prints and paintings since he started experimenting with it in the ‘90s. On this subject, Hirst said: “I really like the machine, and I really like the movement. The movement sort of implies life. Every time they’re finished, I’m desperate to do another one.”
In A Spin, The Action Of The World On Things, Volume II Sold By Sotheby’s in 2021
Mantra
Butterfly wings again make an appearance in this 2011 screenprint in colours with diamond dust, which was sold by Phillips in January 2021 for £70,000. Hirst’s butterflies feed into the artist’s ever-present exploration of death, as they symbolise both beauty and change, but also the fleeting nature of life. He has said in the past that he cuts the wings off the insects because a friend of his once said: “butterflies are beautiful, but it’s a shame they have disgusting hairy bodies in the middle.”
Mantra Sold By Phillips in 2021
