Cat Painting by Damien Hirst is Worthless, Says Sotheby's
Damien Hurst may be the highest paid artist on the planet right now -- from his cows embalmed in formaldehyde to his diamond encrusted skulls, sales are great. But it appears that his early work is practically worthless, as an old girlfriend found out. Damien painted a portrait of a cat and gave it to the girl. She recently decided to have it valued and lo and behold -- no one wanted it. It was too ordinary. No diamonds. No gold-plated hooves. Just a painting of a cat.
Julie Staniforth, 51, was given the painting of Mindy by Damien in 1982.
He did it to impress her sis Joanne, 43, his girlfriend at the time.
Hirst's work fetched a record £111 million at auction this week.
But Sotheby's have now told Julie, of Leeds, Mindy is worthless as it is not his usual style.
She said: "Perhaps I should have had Damien come back and put her in formaldehyde."
There is a disturbing lesson in all of this. Did Damien turn to his trademark bizarre art concepts specifically because he knew his ordinary painting style would never get him anywhere? Is his art all just commercial schtick? It's something to ponder.
