Name: The Souls I (prairie copper, oriental gold, imperial purple)
Brand: Damien Hirst
Rating: 4.9 (225 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of Damien Hirst's The Souls I (prairie copper, oriental gold, imperial purple) (signed) is estimated to be worth between £7,500 and £11,000. This foil block artwork, created in 2010, has shown consistent value growth and is part of a limited edition of 15. The artwork has an auction history of two sales since its entry to the market on 25th October 2015.

Auction Date

Auction House

Artwork

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

April 2016

Phillips New York - United States

The Souls I (prairie copper, oriental gold, imperial purple) - Signed Print

October 2015

Phillips New York - United States

The Souls I (prairie copper, oriental gold, imperial purple) - Signed Print

Meaning & Analysis

As part of an extensive collection of prints by Damien Hirst called The Souls series from 2010, The Souls I (prairie copper, oriental gold, imperial purple) is a print that shows a large purple and orange butterfly with its wings outspread. Set against a white backdrop, the butterfly is created using a metallic foil block printing technique to produce a shimmering effect that reflects the way their wings reflect the light.

Hirst speaks of his motivations for depicting the butterflies in this series, explaining: “I love butterflies because when they are dead they look alive. The foil block makes the butterflies have a feel similar to the actual butterflies in the way they reflect the light. After ‘The Dead’ I had to do the butterflies because you can’t have one without the other.”

Across the entire of The Souls series there are four species of butterflies depicted in each print, within which are 80 colour variations, each presented as an edition of 15. The abundance of butterflies across the series reflects the various insects found in a meadow, each one unique. The sheer scale on which Hirst works is crucial to this series that brings together themes around morality, life, love, faith and aesthetics.