A PAINTING by the world’s most expensive living artist will feature anonymously in a charity auction to be held during the Flat Lake Literary and Arts Festival at Hilton Park in Scotshouse later this month.
Conceptual artist Damien Hirst has specially commissioned a painting for the ‘Hirst-A-Like’ auction which will be mixed among thirty other local artist’s paintings for local bidders and art collectors alike to try to identify.
Hirst was named the most expensive living artist last month after the sale of a medicine chest, Lullaby Spring, for £9.65 million stg at Sotheby’s in London. Hirst previously held the title of second most expensive artist after American Jasper Johns, with the sale of his iconic 14-foot tiger shark immersed in formaldehyde in a vitrine.
The valuable unseen painting was due to be flown to Hilton Park by Hirst’s personal Lear jet this week but the jet was refused landing permission on the estate. The painting is now being flown into Knock airport, where a private security firm will look after the painting before the festival takes place on 25-27 August.
Hirst will be joined by a plethora of other artists and writers on the stunning 500 acre estate for the first annual festival hosted by cult filmmaker, Kevin Allen, and writer Patrick McCabe. Visit www.theflatlakefestival.com for more details.