Damien Hirst auction expected to fetch £65 million

An auction of new works by Damien Hirst - including a pickled zebra, a unicorn and a calf with 18-carat gold hooves - is expected to fetch over £65 million.

Hirst has taken the unusual decision to bypass his art dealers and sell direct to the public.



The sale, which he has titled Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, comprises 223 lots and will be sold over two days at Sotheby's in London, on September 15-16.

Star lot is The Golden Calf, one of Hirst's formaldehyde animal sculptures. Its hooves and horns are cast in 18-carat gold, and there is a solid gold disc above its head. The piece carries a price tag of between £8 million and £12 million.



Hirst will also present a pickled tiger shark (£4 million - £6 million), zebra (£2 million - £3 million) and 'unicorn' (£2 million - £3 million) - the latter is a foal with a resin horn. All are new works created this year.

Cheyenne Westphal, chairman of contemporary art at Sotheby's Europe, said: "This is Damien Hirst as we know him, but everything is basically up one notch. Damien is the leading artist of his generation. "The extraordinary body of new work to be showcased at Sotheby's is among his best yet: ambitious, exquisite and incredibly powerful."