Damien Hirst money man takes his former boss to auction
Frank Dunphy, who acted as Damien Hirst’s accountant during the artist’s golden period of wealth accumulation, and for another two years afterwards when contemporary art prices crumbled, is to sell his £10million art collection at Sotheby’s in September.
The sale will include numerous works by Hirst – mostly gifts, such as the circular
butterfly painting Yellow Ball, with a £100,000 estimate, and a decorated cigarette lighter (£50). A colourful character who had previously worked for Coco the Clown and the pop star Gene Pitney, Dunphy is credited with reducing the commission that dealers took
when selling Hirst’s work from 50 to 10per cent. He also masterminded the £111 million one-man auction at Sotheby’s in 2008, which replaced the dealer’s cut with an undisclosed auctioneer’s commission. As a result, Hirst’s wealth rose to £600million; he and Dunphy must have had a ball.
That sale, which took place on the same day that banker Lehman Brothers collapsed, created a peak to which Hirst’s prices have never
returned. Some commentators have expressed doubt that all the works in the Sotheby’s sale were ever paid for in full. Many have come back to market since, selling for half the cost price.
With an accountant’s nose for profit, Dunphy may have preferred to wait to sell his collection until the Hirst market recovered but, having turned 80, he says: “Time waits for no man.” Highlights from the sale will be on view at Sotheby’s London this week.