Sep 9th 2010
In 2008 just over $270m-worth of art by Damien Hirst was sold at
auction, a world record for a living artist. By 2009 Mr Hirst's annual
auction sales had shrunk by 93%—to $19m—and the 2010 total is likely to
be even lower.
Sotheby's was keen to build its own brand around a celebrity artist
rather than the usual assortment of inanimate objects. The sale was
marketed on YouTube and through the media around the world, part of a
conscious effort to broaden international demand for the work. Sotheby's
filled its exhibition rooms with Hirsts. Never had so much of his art
been seen in one place. Many art-world insiders saw the sale as an
artistic event.
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The goal of making the primary works more expensive may benefit Mr
Hirst's personal income in the short-term, but it makes no sense from
the perspective of his market. Part of the reason that art costs more
than wallpaper is the expectation that it might appreciate in value.
Flooding the market with new work is like debasing the coinage, a
strategy used from Nero to the Weimar Republic with disastrous
consequences.
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