Hirst's accountant puts his personal collection up for auction; 17th century Old Masters get a video update: the latest art news
Hirst's accountant puts his personal collection up for auction
Frank Dunphy, who acted as Damien Hirst’s accountant during the artist’s golden period of wealth accumulation, from 1996 to 2008, and for another two years afterward, when contemporary art prices crumbled, is to sell his ￡10-million art collection at Sotheby’s in September.
The sale will include numerous works by Hirst, mostly gifts, such as the circular butterfly painting, Yellow Ball, with a ￡100,000 estimate and a decorated cigarette lighter (￡50 estimate).
A colourful character who had previously worked for Coco the Clown and the American Sixties pop star, Gene Pitney, Dunphy is credited with reducing the commission dealers took when selling Hirst’s work from 50 to 10 per cent. He also masterminded the ￡111-million one-man auction at Sotheby’s in 2008, which replaced the dealer’s cut with an undisclosed auctioneer’s commission. As a result, Hirst’s wealth rose to more than ￡600 million; he and Dunphy must have had a ball.
The most expensive pieces of art ever sold
However that sale, which took place the same day the bankers Lehman Brothers collapsed, created a peak to which Hirst’s prices have never returned. Some commentators have expressed doubt that all the works in the Sotheby’s sale were ever paid for in full. Many have come back to market since, selling for half the cost price.
With an accountant’s nose for profit, Dunphy may have preferred to wait to sell his collection until the Hirst market recovered, but, having turned 80, he says: “time waits for no man”. Highlights from the sale will be on view at Sotheby’s London this week.
17th century Old Masters get a video update
The venerable Frick Collection in New York and Pittsburgh, famed for its collection of Old Master paintings by Piero della Francesca, Vermeer and Fragonard, has acquired its first video by a contemporary artist.
Over the last ten years, British artists, Rob and Nick Carter have been working on a series of videos under the title Transforming, that take old master paintings as their subjects.
At first sight, the videos are like still photographs. But when the viewer continues to watch, signs of movement – from a butterfly wing or a caterpillar leg – become apparent on the plasma screen. The series consists of 12 different videos using digital technology lasting between 30 minutes and three hours each.
The Frick bought a 32-minute-long video of a still life of flowers that eventually wilt based on Five Tulips in a Wan-Vi Vase, a painting by the 17th century Dutch artist, Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder.
The Carters began the series when they heard that the average attention span of a museum visitor was about three seconds per painting, and wanted to make something that would reward lengthier viewing.
The 12 works will be shown altogether for the first time next week at the Masterpiece London fair by contemporary art dealer, Ben Brown, and will be priced between ￡25,000 to ￡125,000 depending on how few from the edition are still available for sale.