Name: I Saw The Half Of The Moon
Brand: Damien Hirst
Rating: 4.9 (226 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of Damien Hirst’s I Saw The Half Of The Moon (signed) is estimated to be worth between £1,450 and £2,150. Over the past five years, the hammer price ranges from £1,400 in May 2020 to £1,540 in June 2022. This artwork has shown consistent value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 10%. This is an etching from 2002 and is a rare artwork with an auction history of four total sales since its entry to the market in October 2008. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 68.

Auction Date

Auction House

Artwork

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

June 2022

Wright - United States

I Saw The Half Of The Moon - Signed Print

May 2020

Forum Auctions London - United Kingdom

I Saw The Half Of The Moon - Signed Print

November 2018

Artcurial - France

I Saw The Half Of The Moon - Signed Print

October 2008

Ketterer Kunst Hamburg - Germany

I Saw The Half Of The Moon - Signed Print

Meaning & Analysis

I Saw The Half Of The Moon is one of 23 etchings that make up Damien Hirst’s first volume of the In A Spin, The Action Of The World On Things portfolio from 2002. Based on Hirst’s famous series of works, the spin paintings, this etching depicts a variation on this theme. As with every print in this volume, I Saw The Half Of The Moon is formed of concentric circles created with thin coloured lines.

To create In A Spin, The Action Of The World On Things, Hirst attached copper plates to a spin machine in his studio, drawing on them with sharp tools as the machine rotated. The use of the rotating machine is reminiscent of the optical experiments of the Dada artist Marcel Duchamp from the 1920s and ’30s. While Duchamp used motorised spinning devices to create optical illusions, Hirst instead uses a spin machine towards aesthetic and expressionistic ends.

Hirst’s aim to create these spin works for aesthetic purposes was made clear in his 1994 installation exhibition, Making Beautiful Drawings. During this exhibition, visitors could create their own spin drawings on a pedal-powered turntable machine, highlighting Hirst’s interest in interrogating originality and repetition throughout his artistic oeuvre.