Searching for a bit of cheery news, I thought of the most successful sale of 2008, Damien Hirst’s Beautiful Inside My Head Forever auction.
With truly mega chutzpah, it went ahead on the very day that Lehman Brothers sent the world’s financial markets off the clock by filing for bankruptcy. In 24 hours the sale obliterated all records, raising an incredible£111 million; most going straight into the pocket of Hirst, that marketing genius and art maestro.
As a long time art collector, I have been attracted by paintings across the gamut of four centuries, including Picasso and Bacon, but have never quite got the appeal of Hirst.
No doubt it is me that is out of step. At a time when many are struggling to sell things that can be eaten, worn, driven or sat upon, even when they really are “priced to go”, we must surely bow our heads in honour to any man who can persuade someone to pay£10.3 million for a dead bull in a glass case full of dangerous chemicals. There are lessons there.
Lateral thinking for a start. Hirst innovatively produces his work with a huge team manning a sort of art factory. Also, choosing the right people to work with and for you is handy. He picked a brilliant, hungry and unconventional business manager in Frank Dunphy, who started as an accountant in London showbiz looking after speciality acts including jugglers, acrobats, clowns and circus dwarfs – acts that in the early 1960s included Coco the clown, Julie Mendez and her performing python and Peaches Page, the first nude dancer to tour Britain.
Hirst also secured the backing of two of the world’s most charismatic and connected art dealers, Jay Jopling in London and Larry “Go-Go” Gagosian in New York.
Then, as ever, it’s about location. Choosing Sotheby’s in London to hold his sale hit the right time zone and enabled Hirst to ride on its global reputation as well as his own. He also displayed fantastic attention to detail, personally designing the auction rooms and creating the sale title.
Over the past few years Hirst has been built into a phenomenal global brand, appealing to new money in show business, pop music and fashion, as well as the emerging economies of Russia and the Middle East.
Art has performed phenomenally well as a long-term investment – understandable with old masters where scarcity underpins their value. Hirst’s prolific product effectively rolls off a production line yet, mind-bogglingly, he still managed to shift 98 per cent of the 223 lots on offer at better than expected prices.
People will still be talking about Damien Hirst 50 years from now, though maybe more about his business skills than as an artist. If we want to emulate his success, we need to capture people’s imaginations too – think outside the box and be bold.
We must choose our people wisely, not always looking for the conventional. And we must exude total belief in our brand, not letting a little hiccup like the meltdown of the world financial system distract us from the beautiful art of making lots and lots of money.
Lord Kirkham, Chairman, DFS
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