Master and Servant

Frank Dunphy                                    "School: The Archaeology of Lost
                                                         Desires, Comprehending Infinity,
                                                           and the Search for Knowledge", 2007
                                                           Damien Hirst
                                                           Collection Aby Rosen
                                                           Lever House, NYC

Master and Servant

Jasper Johns once lamented that artists are the elite of the servant class.  No truer words sustain today's art economy.  September 15-16 in London, the auction house Sotheby's is staging a sale devoted solely to the new works of Damien Hirst, revered and reviled for his pickled sharks.  According to press reports this blow-out of more than 200 derivatives of Hirst's earlier pieces was conceived by his longtime business manager Frank Dunphy.  Sounds like Hirst is the highly paid assistant in this show.

-toa