Damien Hirst
The shark, the formaldehyde, and the millions: Damien Hirst, the YBA who made death a spectacle.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Damien Hirst · see source
Death is a central theme in his works, which often feature dead animals preserved in formaldehyde.[1] During the 1990s, the UK art scene was dominated by the Young British Artists, and Hirst was a key member of that group.[2]
Life and work
His mother encouraged his drawing, his only successful educational subject, but she also cut up his bondage trousers and melted a Sex Pistols record.[3][4] In July 1988, Hirst organized the independent student exhibition Freeze in a disused London Port Authority building.[5] Charles Saatchi visited Freeze and within a year bought two of Hirst's medicine cabinet exhibits.[6] In September 2008, he sold a complete show at Sotheby's for £111 million, bypassing his galleries.[7]
Hirst had no contact with his biological father; when he was two, his mother wed a motor mechanic, who became his stepfather, and that marriage ended in divorce a decade later.[8]
What the cited sources add
The Guardian reported in 2003 that Hirst bought back 12 works from Saatchi for an undisclosed sum through dealer Jay Jopling.[9] Hirst was "particularly incensed" by Saatchi's placement of a Mini car he had decorated for charity at the gallery entrance.[9] A BBC profile noted that Hirst's "interest in wounds" included pictures of burns victims and those affected by venereal disease.[6] The same profile stated that Hirst's mother claimed she lost control of him at an early age.[6]
Mark Bridger, who poured black ink into Hirst's sheep tank in 1994, later sued Hirst for copyright infringement over the resulting image.[10] The Art Newspaper reported in 2008 that Hirst's diamond skull, For the Love of God, had an asking price of £50,000,000.[11][12] A consortium, which counted Hirst himself and his gallery White Cube among its members, purchased the skull.[12]
References
- Wikipedia, "Damien Hirst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Artworks National Galleries of Scotland", www.nationalgalleries.org; Brooks, Richard. "Damien Hirst's earliest painting goes on sale", The Sunday Times, 6 April 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2010. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Damien Hirst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Nicholson, Octavia. "Hirst, Damien (Steven)", Oxford Art Online (subscription). Retrieved 9 November 2008.; "Glossary: Young British Artists (YBA)", Tate Etc.. Retrieved 14 July 2009.; "Hirst generation missing from Turner prize 2000 shortlist", The Guardian, 14 June 2000. Retrieved 11 September 2009.; "Damien Hirst Is Still the UK's Richest Artist—With a Net Worth of $387 Million, According to the Sunday Times's 'Rich List'", artnet News, 2020-05-18; Richard Brooks, "It's the fame I crave, says Damien Hirst", The Times, 28 March 2010; Gra en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Damien Hirst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chaundy, Bob, "Newsmakers—Damien Hirst: Shockaholic", BBC News, 20 September 2002; Jardine, Cassandra, "I Knew It Was Time to Clean up My Act", The Daily Telegraph, 26 July 2004; Hattenstone, Simon, "Damien Hirst: 'Anyone can be Rembrandt'", The Guardian, 14 November 2009 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Damien Hirst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jardine, Cassandra, "I Knew It Was Time to Clean up My Act", The Daily Telegraph, 26 July 2004 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Damien Hirst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The Freeze catalogue 1988 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Chaundy, Bob, "Newsmakers—Damien Hirst: Shockaholic", BBC News, 20 September 2002. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk
- Wikipedia, "Damien Hirst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barker, Godfrey; Jury, Louise."Even his fag ends sell as Hirst art auction hits £100 million", London Evening Standard, 16 September 2008. Retrieved 22 Jul; Akbar, Arifa. (16 September 2008). "A formaldehyde frenzy as buyers snap up Hirst works", The Independent. Retrieved 16 September 2008.; Parsons, Neal. (16 September 2008). "Update 1-Hirst's London art sale defies economic blues". Reuters. Retrieved 16 September 2008.; Akbar, Arifa. (16 September 2008). "A formaldehyde frenzy as buyers snap up Hirst works", The Independent. Retrie en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Damien Hirst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chaundy, Bob, "Newsmakers—Damien Hirst: Shockaholic", BBC News, 20 September 2002 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Hirst Buys His Art back from Saatchi", The Guardian, 27 November 2003. Retrieved 20 March 2006.. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
- Willcock, "Who's Suing Whom: The case of the pickled sheep", The Independent, 14 September 1998. facts only, no text reused. independent.co.uk
- Thornton, Sarah. "Damien Hirst is rewriting the rules of the market (2)", The Art Newspaper, 17 July 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
- Wikipedia, "Damien Hirst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thornton, Sarah. "Damien Hirst is rewriting the rules of the market (2)", The Art Newspaper, 17 July 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.; Thornton, Sarah. "Damien Hirst is rewriting the rules of the market (2)", The Art Newspaper, 17 July 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Damien Hirst (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Modern & Contemporary Artists
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Damien Hirst (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced