Name: The Souls I (prairie copper, leaf green, cool gold)
Brand: Damien Hirst
Rating: 4.9 (226 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of Damien Hirst's The Souls I (prairie copper, leaf green, cool gold) (signed) is estimated to be worth between £8,500 and £12,500. Over the past five years, the hammer price has shown significant growth, with an average annual growth rate of 43%. This work is a rare foil block print, created in 2010, and has an impressive auction history, having been sold once at auction in March 2023. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 15.

Auction Date

Auction House

Artwork

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

March 2023

Bonhams New Bond Street - United Kingdom

The Souls I (prairie copper, leaf green, cool gold) - Signed Print

Meaning & Analysis

The Souls I (prairie copper, leaf green, cool gold) is a print from Damien Hirst’s extensive series, The Souls, from 2010. The print shows a large butterfly with its wings outspread, set against a white backdrop. Depicted in copper, green and gold, the image of the butterfly has been rendered flat and simplified into block colours, obscuring the fine detail of the real butterfly wings.

Reminiscent of the work of Pop artist Andy Warhol, Hirst creates a vast series of prints, each with the same subject and composition. There are four species of butterflies depicted across The Souls series, each print showing one, within which there are 80 colour variations, each presented as an edition of 15. Hirst uses a foil block printing technique to give his butterflies a shimmering effect to represent the way their wings would reflect the light.

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.”