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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
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| Hirst works fetch record prices | Hirst works fetch record prices |
| (about 19 hours later) | |
| An auction of art works by Damien Hirst has smashed top estimates to bring in a record total of £70.5m ($125m), with still more works for sale. | An auction of art works by Damien Hirst has smashed top estimates to bring in a record total of £70.5m ($125m), with still more works for sale. |
| The British artist has abandoned the traditional method of selling through dealers and galleries, going straight to the auction house Sotheby's instead. | The British artist has abandoned the traditional method of selling through dealers and galleries, going straight to the auction house Sotheby's instead. |
| It is the first time an artist has sold a substantial body of work this way. | It is the first time an artist has sold a substantial body of work this way. |
| Sotheby's say the sale - which runs over two days - has set a new record for a sale dedicated to one artist. | Sotheby's say the sale - which runs over two days - has set a new record for a sale dedicated to one artist. |
| Hirst has specialised in displaying animals preserved in tanks of chemicals. | Hirst has specialised in displaying animals preserved in tanks of chemicals. |
| Among the lots were The Golden Calf - a bull in a tank of formaldehyde, with its head crowned by a gold disc - which sold for £9.2m ($16.5m). | Among the lots were The Golden Calf - a bull in a tank of formaldehyde, with its head crowned by a gold disc - which sold for £9.2m ($16.5m). |
| In Pictures: Hirst for art | |
| The Kingdom - a tiger shark also in formaldehyde - sold for £9.6m ($17.2m). It had been estimated at about half that price. | |
| The Black Sheep with the Golden Horn, another animal in formaldehyde, sold for £2.6m, within its £2-3m estimate. | The Black Sheep with the Golden Horn, another animal in formaldehyde, sold for £2.6m, within its £2-3m estimate. |
| The auction, entitled Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, was the first of three that will sell a total of 223 art works by Mr Hirst. | The auction, entitled Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, was the first of three that will sell a total of 223 art works by Mr Hirst. |
| The second and third sessions are due to take place on Tuesday. | The second and third sessions are due to take place on Tuesday. |
| Mr Hirst has called the auction a "mini retrospective" and "probably the most amazing show I've put on". | Mr Hirst has called the auction a "mini retrospective" and "probably the most amazing show I've put on". |
| BBC Entertainment reporter David Sillito said that opting to sell all this art in the hurley-burley of the sale room is an unusual move, but that the artist says galleries can be snobby and elitist. | BBC Entertainment reporter David Sillito said that opting to sell all this art in the hurley-burley of the sale room is an unusual move, but that the artist says galleries can be snobby and elitist. |
| A spokesman for the auction house Sotheby's said: "The extraordinary body of new work to be showcased at Sotheby's is among his best yet - ambitious, exquisite and incredibly powerful." | A spokesman for the auction house Sotheby's said: "The extraordinary body of new work to be showcased at Sotheby's is among his best yet - ambitious, exquisite and incredibly powerful." |
| The previous record for a sale dedicated to a single artist was set in 1993 for works by Picasso, which went for a total of $20m (£11m) | The previous record for a sale dedicated to a single artist was set in 1993 for works by Picasso, which went for a total of $20m (£11m) |