Stalin (Comic Relief)
Stalin (Comic Relief)
Signed Print
Damien Hirst
51 x 41cm, Edition of 500, Digital Print, 2007
£1,450-£2,200
$2,750-$4,200 Market Value Indicator
$2,700-$4,150 Market Value Indicator
¥13,000-¥20,000 Market Value Indicator
€1,700-€2,600 Market Value Indicator
$15,000-$23,000 Market Value Indicator
¥310,000-¥470,000 Market Value Indicator
$1,950-$3,000 Market Value Indicator
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Meaning & Analysis
Stalin (Comic Relief) is a signed inkjet and screen print in colours produced by renowned contemporary artist, Damien Hirst. The print, made in 2007, shows a portrait of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet political leader who governed the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. Hirst defaces Stalin by adding a red splodge over his nose. The addition of this red spot resonates with the red nose icon created by the British charity, Comic Relief, as part of their Red Nose Day appeal to raise money for victims of famine and poverty worldwide.
The print uses a painting of Stalin that was once owned by A. A. Gill, a British restaurant reviewer. Gill tried to sell the painting to Christie’s auction house but was rejected on accounts of the work being tasteless and politically incorrect. On telling Hirst this, Hirst took the painting from Gill, added a red circle over Stalin’s nose with a red marker, which suddenly transformed the worthless painting into a piece of fine art.
The work was auctioned to raise money for the Comic Relief charity and was sold for £140,000 at Sotheby’s in London in February 2007.
