Damien Hirst at Tate Modern: Sharks, Skulls and Spots

Damien Hirst at Tate Modern: Sharks, Skulls and Spots

Jan 2, 2013 | Gallery

To coincide with Damien Hirst’s first retrospective to be held at the Tate Modern from 4th April to 9th September 2012, Peter Harrington is proud to present a selection of books, prints and drawings by Britain’s most famous and controversial artist.

Hirst became famous while still a student at Goldsmith’s, when he organised ‘Freeze’. This 1988 exhibition took place in an empty building owned by the London Port Authority in Surrey Docks and brought to the attention of the world a group that were to become known as the Young British Artists (YBA). The show attracted, amongst others, the attention of Charles Saatchi who became a prolific collector of Hirst. Pictures from the Saatchi Gallery, the catalogue of all of Hirst’s works owned by Saatchi in 2001, is on offer in our Fulham Road shop.

Pictures from the Saatchi Gallery. 28 Tablets. 2001.

Pictures from the Saatchi Gallery. 28 Tablets. 2001.

Hirst has been nominated for the Turner Prize twice, once in 1992, and again in 1995, the year that he won. On the first occasion a Turner Prize booklet with a short resumé of each of the four finalists was published by Tate. Our copy has an inscription by Hirst on the front cover, “For Paul, we are the Leeds! Love Damien.” Although Hirst was born a Bristolian, he was brought up in Leeds and attended Allerton Grange High School and Leeds College of Art and Design – it seems the local football team also left an impression on him.

The Turner Prize 1992.

The Turner Prize 1992.

From the Cradle to the Grave, a self-publication by Hirst limited to 1,500 signed copies, showcases his draughtsmanship along with drawings and sketches.

From the Cradle to the Grave. Selected Drawings. 2004.

From the Cradle to the Grave. Selected Drawings. 2004.

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Also available is an original pen and ink drawing of a Skull and Crossbones, which comes with a Hirst reference number and has been entered into his archive.

Skull and Crossbones. 2004.

Skull and Crossbones. 2004.

The Booth-Clibborn publication I want to Spend My Life… is by far the most ambitious of any Hirst book, a mighty 334 pages with photographs, graphic design, pop-ups, transparencies, moveable plates, fold-outs, inserts, die-cuts, stickers and posters. Many of these first editions were signed by Hirst, including our copy – unfortunately some second editions have turned up with a signature and we have been reliably informed by the publisher these were not signed by Hirst – be warned.

I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now. 1997.

I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now. 1997.

For the Love of God is probably one Hirst’s best known works. The sculpture, produced in 2007, consists of a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds including a pear-shaped pink diamond in the forehead. It is valued at £50 million. In recognition for their help on this project, Hirst gave each of his staff an original print not intended for the commercial market. We have on offer two versions of the print framed together, Beyond Belief and For the Love of God, each from a limited edition of 300 and signed by the artist. We also have a couple of other rare signed prints which were gifted to employees and can be viewed in our shop.

Beyond Belief and For the Love of God. 2007.

Beyond Belief and For the Love of God. 2007.

The Spot Paintings are probably Hirst’s most widely recognised motif. Our print of Ninety Coloured Spots is one of only 500 signed and inscribed in pencil. This print was not issued commercially, but intended for presentation by the artist to friends.

Ninety coloured spots. c.1990.

Ninety coloured spots. c.1990.

This print of Stalin is based on an original painting once owned by A. A. Gill, to which Hirst added a signature red spot to enable it to be auctioned for the Comic Relief charity. The painting achieved a price of £140,000 at Sotheby’s in London in February 2007. Our print is from a limited edition of 500 and is signed by the artist.

Joseph Stalin. 2007.

Joseph Stalin. 2007.

The print below was issued as one of thirteen in Hirst’s The Last Supper portfolio. The thirteen screen prints in the portfolio are based on pharmaceutical packets chosen for their designs rather than for the specific properties of the drug. This image is from a pack marked Atropine Sulphate BP injection, for use during heart attacks. The packaging was current at the time the work was made in 1999.

Liver, Bacon, Onions. (The Last Supper.) 1999.

Liver, Bacon, Onions. (The Last Supper.) 1999.

For more prints and original artwork visit the Modern & Contemporary Art section of our gallery website, or visit our shop at 100 Fulham Road, London Sw3 6HS.

Nicolas Bentley Drew the Authors

Nicolas Bentley Drew the Authors

Jan 2, 2013 | Gallery

Nicolas Bentley, one of the most prominent English illustrators of the mid-20th century, always considered himself to be an author rather than simply a cartoonist. His oeuvre, which includes several books and several hundred more cartoons and illustrations, has one common thread – the telling of stories.

“You ought to be used to walking home by now.” – The London bus strike continued for five weeks.

“You ought to be used to walking home by now.” – The London bus strike continued for five weeks.

Bentley was never a caustic satirist, rather the clean lines of his stark black ink drawings drew attention to the stories recognisable in everyday life: the funny, the sad and the ridiculous.

His celebrated contributions to Punch and later to Private Eye were prized for their accuracy, offsetting the more searing articles they accompanied, adding richness to the jokes with intricate narratives of their own.

“I don’t think I’ll bother to read it. I’ll wait and see the film.” – On 2 March 1960 the Guillebaud committee published its report on railway workers’ pay, recommending substantial pay increases.

“I don’t think I’ll bother to read it. I’ll wait and see the film.” – On 2 March 1960 the Guillebaud committee published its report on railway workers’ pay, recommending substantial pay increases.

For this lover of stories and one who with a rich literary heritage (his godfather was G. K. Chesterton and his father invented the clerihew), it is little wonder he found such a rich source of material in the illustration of authors, often seeming to enjoy the game of adding satirical flavour to his literary drawings.

A noticeably supercilious Lord Byron.

A noticeably supercilious Lord Byron.

In his various author illustrations, mostly produced throughout the 1960s to accompany book reviews in the Sunday Telegraph, Nicolas Bentley displays some of his most overt narrative sensibilities.

Notably his drawing of Byron published in the Sunday Telegraph in 1966 adapts Byron’s features to match his iconic status – adding a quiff and unmistakably Elvis-esque curl of the lip.

John Keats: the poet’s large eyes are touched in green.

John Keats: the poet’s large eyes are touched in green.

A portrait of John Keats in 1965 for the same paper shows the poet with his hand under his chin, with enormous green eyes gazing into some romantic distance – the perfect image of a 60s daydreaming adolescent.

Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Josef Goebbels and Arturo Toscanini in a wooden crib.

Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Josef Goebbels and Arturo Toscanini in a wooden crib.

He goes further into comic interpretation in other drawings, in which he has contrived a stand-alone narrative to complement the book review or article.

From the unusual grouping of Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Joseph Goebbels and Arturo Toscanini as babies in a wooden crib (Goebels slashing the air with a cosh) to the more traditional comic framing of a fully grown Gustave Flaubert fleeing an old woman – his mother with whom he lived for most of his adult life.

The French novelist Gustave Flaubert, hat in hand, flees from a wailing old widow, presumably his mother with whom he lived most of his adult life.

The French novelist Gustave Flaubert, hat in hand, flees from a wailing old widow, presumably his mother with whom he lived most of his adult life.

In all of these drawings, Bentley’s tendency towards the narrative of the everyday is irresistible. He takes great writers – many of whom he would have respected and admired – and gives them qualities instantly relatable to the more mundane lives of his audience.

Sherlock Holmes, with magnifying glass, and Dr Watson investigate the mysterious rise of the young David Frost, host of That Was The Week That Was.

Sherlock Holmes, with magnifying glass, and Dr Watson investigate the mysterious rise of the young David Frost, host of That Was The Week That Was.

Through his pin-ups, moody adolescents, screaming babies and long-suffering mummy’s boys, this collection of Nicolas Bentley’s work gives us a picture not just of historical and literary figures as we never expected to see them, but they tell a story about the time his pictures were published. Like all great storytellers, Bentley had the power to show readers themselves, as well as the men and women in the pictures he drew.

Works from Bentley’s literary portrait collection.

“When you say he’s an unsuccessful author, you mean he wasn’t called to give evidence?” – Virtually every published novelist alive had been called to give evidence in the Lady Chatterley trial.

“When you say he’s an unsuccessful author, you mean he wasn’t called to give evidence?” – Virtually every published novelist alive had been called to give evidence in the Lady Chatterley trial.