Damien Hirst

£6,000-£8,500 VALUE (EST.)

$11,000-$16,000 VALUE (EST.)

$10,000-$14,500 VALUE (EST.)

¥50,000-¥70,000 VALUE (EST.)

€7,000-€9,500 VALUE (EST.)

$60,000-$80,000 VALUE (EST.)

¥970,000-¥1,370,000 VALUE (EST.)

$7,500-$10,500 VALUE (EST.)

22% AAGR

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

Meaning & Analysis

New Beginnings 4 is a block print from Damien Hirst’s New Beginnings series from 2011. The print shows a yellow butterfly with its wings outspread, set against a dark blue backdrop. The light tones of the butterfly in the centre are set in stark contrast to the dark, solid background.

read more about New Beginnings

Harking back to the work of Pop artist Andy Warhol, Hirst creates a series of six prints with the same subject matter and composition, but with varying colour combinations and butterfly species to make each print unique. Rendering the fine detail of the butterfly wings and setting this against the dark backdrop, Hirst produces a highly simplistic image that finds universally engaging triggers. This contrast between bold block colours and the realistic image plays with Hirst’s concern with facts and truth that images are assumed to depict.

The butterfly motif is a prominent figure that Hirst has used throughout his career to bring together themes around morality, life, love, faith and aesthetics. Speaking of his obsession with butterflies Hirst has explained, “I think rather than be personal you have to find universal triggers: everyone’s frightened of glass, everyone’s frightened of sharks, everyone loves butterflies.”