Photo Credit: Halls Fine Art, Damien Hirst, Butterfly Spin
On March 18, work by the UK’s richest living artist hits Halls Fine Art’s auction.
A Damien Hirst work with a mere four-figure estimate doesn’t show up often.
Hirst’s “Butterfly Spin (acrylic on paper)” is set to appear in Halls Fine Art’s upcoming Modern and Contemporary Art and Design auction, putting one of the most bankable names in contemporary art alongside a varied mix that includes Mr. Controversial, Bob Dylan, and mid-century figures like Victor Pasmore and Fred Cuming. The auction takes place next month on March 18.
Hirst, long considered the UK’s richest living artist, has an estimated net worth north of more than $300 million, according to The Sunday Times. His reputation still circles landmark moments like For the Love of God, the 2007 diamond-encrusted platinum skull that reportedly sold for approximately $100 million to a private consortium that included the artist himself. It’s the kind of headline sale that permanently resets expectations around his market.
Which is what makes Butterfly Spin interesting.
Estimated at $2,000–$4,500+, the work sits at the accessible end of Hirst’s pricing spectrum. For context, large-scale works like his Happy Life Blossom have cleared more than $6 million at auction as recently as 2022. Even accounting for differences in scale and medium, the gap is hard to ignore.
That spread is the point. Hirst’s market has always operated in tiers, and paper works like this one offer a quieter entry into an artist whose name usually comes with eight-figure baggage. For collectors paying attention, this event reads less like a spectacle and more like an opportunity.
In a sale filled with solid names, the upcoming auction of Butterfly Spin stands out not because it’s loud, but because it’s priced like it slipped through unnoticed.
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