Hirst’s Diamond Skull Still Not Sold

LONDON— Damien Hirst’s latest exhibition at White Cube galleries closed July 7, and although the artist has sold £130 million ($265 million) worth of art in the show to date—including a split shark that fetched £10 million and three “crucified” sheep for £6 million—his £50 million diamond encrusted skull, For the Love of God, has yet to find a buyer, Bloomberg reports. “The discrepancy in price, and the skull's status as a bejeweled object, may explain why contemporary collectors didn't rush to buy it,” according to Bloomberg. Jean-Jacques Aillagon, president of the Chateau de Versailles and former director of Francois Pinault's Palazzo Grassi in Venice, echoed that sentiment. “A work of art does not owe its importance to the fact that it is made of precious materials,” he said.