5 Year Print Market Review 2023
The Golden Calf - Signed Print by Damien Hirst 2009 - MyArtBroker

The Golden Calf
Signed Print

Damien Hirst

POA

22% AAGR (5YR)

This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

Screenprint, 2009
Signed Print Edition of 100
H 65cm x W 124cm

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Auction Results

Auction DateAuction HouseArtwork
Hammer Price
Return to Seller
Buyer Paid
June 2019Bonhams New Bond Street - United KingdomThe Golden Calf - Signed Print
October 2012Ketterer Kunst Hamburg - GermanyThe Golden Calf - Signed Print

Meaning & Analysis

The 18 month-old calf is shown in profile on the left and frontally on the right. The gold disk is framed by the horns which are encased in 18 carat gold. The use of a golden calf for this installation and print was intentional. It relates to the biblical story of the book of exodus wherein the Israelites worshipped the calf as an idol. The work marked a seminally innovative moment in the sale of art. Hirst was to sell these works directly through Sotheby’s.

This print preserves, in a much smaller scale, the famous formaldehyde installation. It is one of several works by Hirst that enclose complete animals in formaldehyde. In 1991 The Physical Impossibility of Death In The Mind Of Someone Living, a full size tiger shark preserved afloat, was Hirst’s first exploration of the use of formaldehyde. He continued to use this approach for several years. The Golden Calf coupled this interest with Hirst’s recurrent exploration of religion and the use of luxury materials. The presence of gold may be compared to Hirst’s use of diamonds in his For The Love of God sculpture.

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