Cherry Blossoms Lead Phillips $660,600 'Damien Hirst' Auction in London

A set of Damien Hirst's "The Virtues" was the headline sale at Phillips single-artist auction on June 5 in London.

• The sale totaled $660,600 (£487,600), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 31 works sold totaling $660,600.
• Estimates totaled: $529,900 (low) and $781,400 (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 86% as 31 of the 36 lots announced sold.

The star lot was: Damien Hirst, The Virtues (Entire Set) (2021), which sold for $111,800, 38% above its $80,700 low estimate.

The outperformer sold for 171% above its low estimate. Damien Hirst, The Aspects single - Mercy (2019), sold for $29,300 ($10,800 low estimate).

• 18 works, or 58%, sold above their high estimate.
• 11 works, or 35%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 2 works, or 6%, sold below their low estimate.
• 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

5 works were bought-in, including: Damien Hirst, *Exaltation, from Enter the Infinite (The Visions) * (2016), estimated at $40,300 (low) to $67,200 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.