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Artist donates pickled cow
14/12/2007 15:29 - (SA)
London - Multi-millionaire English
artist Damien Hirst said on Thursday he was donating four major
works to Britain's Tate Gallery, including a sliced and pickled
cow and calf.
It is the first time Hirst, who recently sold a
diamond-encrusted skull for $100m, has made a major
donation to a museum.
"It means a lot to me to have works in the Tate. I would
have never thought it possible when I was a student," he said.
"I think giving works from my collection is a small thing if
it means millions of people get to see the work displayed in a
great space," he added.
The donated works include The Acquired Inability to Escape
and the sculpture Life Without You. Both are from 1991.
The works also include one of the first in Hirst's series of
fly paintings, Who is Afraid of the Dark? 2002, and the
exhibition copy of Mother and Child Divided, 2007 - a sliced
and pickled cow and calf.
'Extremely grateful'
Tate director Nicholas Serota welcomed the gift.
It came in
response to an appeal he made years ago for donations from major
British artists because the gallery did not have enough money to
keep its collection contemporary.
"I am extremely grateful to Damien for his overwhelming
generosity in making such a significant gift to Tate and for
working closely with us to ensure we have an important range of
his work," he said.
"With such a limited budget for acquisitions, and when art
market prices are high, Tate is indebted to international
contemporary artists such as Damien Hirst for working with us on
building the collection," he added.
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South Africa
