THE REPORTER

That Mammon Moment

By Judd Tully

Published: November 1, 2008

Courtesy Sotheby’s

Damien Hirst’s 2008 "Golden Calf" fetched Ł10.3 million ($18.7 million) at the evening sale of Beautiful Inside My Head Forever at Sotheby’s London.

November 2008 The Reporter

Design Discontent

The Mysterious 315 Johns

Damien Hirst Robert Rauschenberg Pablo Picasso Jasper Johns Frank Stella Richard Prince Stunt at Sotheby’s Lands Tape Artist in Jail Dealer Holly Solomon’s Papers Headed to Smithsonian

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“I know the new markets were fairly active,” says Mark Poltimore, chairman of Sotheby’s Russia. “If you’ve got $2 billion [as many bidders do] $2 million spent here is just a bit of interest for a week.”

Will the Hirst triumph induce other superstar artists to circumvent their dealers? “I’ve been asked by the auction houses to put work up directly,” says Richard Prince, “[but] it’s never been something I’ve been interested in. I’d rather keep what I make for myself. "That Mammon Moment" originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's November 2008 Table of Contents.