Damien Hirst’s diamond skull has reportedly been sold for $100 million!
The buyers were an unnamed investment group.

BBC reported, that the spokeswoman for the White Cube gallery in London could not give further details about the buyers, but they planned to re-sell the artwork at a later date while Hirst retains part-ownership.

Based on the skull of a 35-year-old 18th century European man, the artwork caused a sensation when it first went on display in central London. (I was sure that the price tag would attract a lot of attention) Some critics dismissed it as tasteless while others saw it as a reflection of celebrity-obsessed culture. Following its sale, a global tour for the artwork is planned. However, no dates or locations have been confirmed.

Bloomberg reported, that the sale is expected to close in three to four weeks, when all the paperwork is finished. The group of buyers would be required to show the skull for two or three years in museums around the world. The skull’s sale would enrich Hirst, 42, whose fortune has been valued at 130 million pounds by the London-based Sunday Times and who may get 75 percent or more of the proceeds of a sale, according to art professionals. At about 50 million pounds, the skull would represent a price increase for Hirst that exceeded even those of Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol, which tripled or quadrupled their auction records in May. Hirst’s record of 9.7 million pounds — the highest for a living artist at auction — was set in June at Sotheby’s, when a telephone bidder bought a pill cabinet, “Lullaby Spring,” that cost the New York seller about 730,000 pounds in 2002, auctioneers said.

“The Great Picture” is the world’s largest photograph taken with the biggest camera in the world, and the Guinness Book of Records certified it in July this year.  Shot with a giant jet air craft hangar sized camera, measuring 13.71 x 48.76 x 24.38 m (45 x 160 x 80 ft). The photograph was confirmed to be the largest photograph on canvas, measuring 9.62 x 33.83 m (31ft 7in x 111ft).

The photo depicts the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. It is currently on show at the Art Center College of Design, South Campus Wind Tunnel, Pasadena, California until the 29th of September.

The Great Picture was created over the nine months leading up to July 2006 by six well-known photographic artists collectively known as The Legacy Project, aided by 400 volunteers, artists, and experts. Working in their jet-hangar-transformed-into-camera, the group hand-applied 80 liters of gelatin silver halide emulsion to a seamless 3,375-square-foot canvas substrate custom-made in Germany. Development was done in a custom Olympic pool-sized developing tray using ten high volume submersible pumps and 1,800 gallons of black and white chemistry. The premier exhibition at Art Center College of Design, South Campus, will feature The Great Picture along with videos and photographs in an environment designed to re-create the dramatic atmosphere within the jet-hangar-as-camera where the giant photograph was made.

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