Damien Hirst’s Bodies (1989) is slated to hit the auction block at Phillips in London where expects to achieve between $1.5 and $2.5 million. What’s interesting is that this famed painting was purchased for all of £600 (around $950) by collector Robert Tibbles back in 1989.
Becoming one of Hirst’s first collectors had its perks, as the work was soon hand-delivered by the artist himself.
![](http://www.extravaganzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Damien-Hirst-painting1-528x297.jpg)
Damien Hirst’s Bodies Painting
“Damien came to put it up in the flat with a mate of his,” Tibbles recounts, “and I remember going into the kitchen and hearing Damien instructing his friend, ‘Higher than that, Charles, higher than that!’ ”
Thirty years later, Bodies is slated to hit the auction block at Phillips in London, along with 29 other works from Tibbles’s collection. An enviable line-up of contemporary British artists, including Hirst, Michael Craig-Martin, Gilbert & George, Julian Opie, Gary Hume, and Sarah Morris, many of Tibbles’s pieces were acquired in their first year of creation directly from the artists or their galleries.
![](http://www.extravaganzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Damien-Hirst-painting3-528x276.jpg)
Damien Hirst’s Bodies Painting
The collection will be sold across multiple sales in 2020—including 20th Century & Contemporary Art; New Now; Photographs; and Editions—and anticipate realizing around $5 million. Those in London can view the works at Phillips Berkeley Square headquarters between December 20 and January 5.
![](http://www.extravaganzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Damien-Hirst-painting2-528x528.jpg)
Damien Hirst’s Bodies Painting