Hirst Art Sale Breaks World Record

Controversial British artist Damian Hirst has set a new world record for a sale dedicated to one artist of £111 million, and proven that art lovers are not being put off by the current credit crunch.

The previous record was set in 1993 for 88 works by Picasso, which stood at US$20milion.

Hirst, 43, put many of his well known works for sale at Sotheby's auction house in London, and declared "people would rather put their money into butterflies than banks", referring to the sale of one of his pieces, a butterfly work of art entitled 'Reincarnated', which fetched an astonishing £1.6m, after being estimated at £700,000.

He is selling more than 220 new works directly through the auction - entitled 'Beautiful Inside My Head Forever' - saving millions of pounds by cutting out art dealers' commission.

During the two-day of the auction, a foal in formaldehyde inside a steel and glass tank - called 'The Dream' - sold for £2.3m and 'The Golden Calf' sold for £10.3m, the highest price ever paid for a Hirst piece at an auction.

"It's another landmark, an astonishing day for the art market in a year that has seen many long-standing records demolished, despite the gloomy world economy," Art expert Charles Dupplin said.

At the end of the sale, Hirst said: "I'm totally exhausted and amazed that my art is selling while banks are falling.

"I guess it means that people would rather put their money into butterflies that banks - seems like a better world to me."

(JM)