Damien Hirst H15 - the Archangels For Sale
Damien Hirst: The Archangels Series
Market Authority and Global Context
Damien Hirst remains the defining figure of contemporary British art, commanding institutional recognition and sustained collector demand across four decades of practice. Guy Hepner, New York, has facilitated $4,226,125 in Damien Hirst transactions, establishing direct market expertise in positioning works by this generation-defining artist. The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2025 documented the global art market at $57.5 billion in 2024, while the 2026 report confirmed a return to growth in 2025—conditions that continue to favor blue-chip contemporary artists with established auction histories and institutional backing.
Hirst's market credentials remain unparalleled among living British artists. His 2008 Sotheby's auction "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever" achieved $198 million in total sales, an unprecedented single-artist event that fundamentally altered contemporary art market dynamics. Lullaby Spring realized $19.2 million at Sotheby's in 2007, establishing auction benchmarks that positioned pharmaceutical and mortality-themed works as cornerstone contemporary holdings. As the leading figure of the Young British Artists movement, Hirst maintains representation with White Cube, while Science Ltd provides authentication services that ensure provenance integrity across his extensive catalogue.
Series Context and Conceptual Framework
The Archangels series, released in 2021, represents Hirst's sustained engagement with spiritual iconography and Western religious tradition. Comprising four works—Raphael, Uriel, Michael, and Gabriel—the series addresses the principal angelic figures recognized across Christian, Jewish, and Islamic theological frameworks. This thematic territory aligns with Hirst's career-long examination of mortality, transcendence, and the boundaries between physical existence and metaphysical belief systems.
Throughout his practice, Hirst has consistently investigated the intersection of science, religion, and human mortality. From the formaldehyde preservation of The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living to the pharmaceutical precision of his medicine cabinet works, Hirst interrogates the mechanisms through which humans confront finite existence. The Archangels extends this inquiry into explicitly sacred territory, positioning celestial intermediaries as subjects worthy of contemporary artistic examination.
The selection of these four specific archangels demonstrates deliberate theological engagement. Raphael, associated with healing; Uriel, linked to wisdom and light; Michael, the warrior protector; and Gabriel, the divine messenger—each figure carries distinct iconographic traditions spanning millennia of religious art history. Hirst's contemporary treatment positions these works within ongoing dialogues between historical devotional imagery and secular artistic practice.
Technical Specifications and Edition Structure
The Archangels series comprises giclée prints executed on archival fine art paper, demonstrating Hirst's commitment to museum-standard production values. Giclée printing technology, utilizing pigment-based inks and precision digital output, ensures exceptional color accuracy and archival longevity exceeding traditional photographic processes. This technical approach reflects Hirst's broader practice of employing industrial precision to achieve conceptual objectives.
Archival fine art paper substrates provide acid-free stability essential for long-term collection integrity. Institutional conservation standards recognize such materials as appropriate for permanent collection holdings, a consideration of increasing importance to collectors building multi-generational portfolios. The 2021 production date positions these works within Hirst's mature practice, executed with the technical infrastructure and quality control systems developed across decades of edition production.
Notable Works Within the Series
Raphael (H15-1) opens the series with reference to the archangel of healing, whose name translates as "God heals" in Hebrew tradition. This figure appears prominently in the Book of Tobit and has served as a subject for artists from Botticelli to Rembrandt, positioning Hirst's interpretation within extensive art historical precedent.
Uriel (H15-2) addresses perhaps the most mystical of the archangels, associated with light, wisdom, and divine presence. Uriel's relative absence from canonical texts compared to other archangels has historically granted artists greater interpretive freedom—a quality that aligns with Hirst's conceptual approach.
Michael (H15-3) engages the warrior archangel, depicted throughout Western art history in combat with satanic forces. This militaristic iconography connects with Hirst's broader examination of violence, protection, and existential threat.
Gabriel (H15-4) completes the series with the messenger archangel, the figure associated with annunciation and divine communication. Gabriel's role as intermediary between celestial and terrestrial realms resonates with Hirst's persistent interest in threshold states and transitional conditions.
Investment Analysis and Market Positioning
Edition works by established contemporary masters have demonstrated resilient secondary market performance, particularly when associated with coherent thematic series and documented provenance. Hirst's auction history—including the landmark 2008 Sotheby's results—establishes market precedent that supports long-term value trajectories for authenticated works across media categories.
The thematic coherence of The Archangels series offers collectors multiple acquisition strategies. Complete series acquisition provides maximum curatorial impact and collection cohesion, while individual work selection allows focused engagement with specific iconographic traditions. Guy Hepner's transaction history across the Hirst market enables informed guidance regarding optimal positioning within broader collection frameworks.
Collector demand for spiritually-themed contemporary works has demonstrated consistent institutional and private interest, with religious subject matter transcending market cycles that affect more trend-dependent categories. The Archangels series addresses universal themes with established art historical precedent while maintaining the conceptual rigor characteristic of Hirst's practice.
Acquisition Through Guy Hepner
Guy Hepner, New York, provides comprehensive acquisition services for The Archangels series, including availability confirmation, condition assessment, and provenance documentation. Our direct transaction history of $4,226,125 in Damien Hirst works ensures market expertise and established relationships within the Hirst collecting community.
Contact Guy Hepner to discuss acquisition opportunities, collection integration strategies, and current availability across The Archangels series.
