Name: The Souls III (gunmetal, silver gloss, oriental gold)
Brand: Damien Hirst
Rating: 5 (231 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of Damien Hirst’s The Souls III (gunmetal, silver gloss, oriental gold) is estimated to be worth between £7,000 and £10,500. This foil block print, created in 2010, is a rare artwork with a positive auction history, having been sold twice since its initial sale on 12th May 2016. There have been no sales in the last 12 months and the average annual growth rate is 4%. This work is part of a limited edition of 15 and is signed by the artist.

Auction Date

Auction House

Location

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

September 2017

Leonard Joel, Melbourne

Australia

May 2016

Swann Galleries

United States

Meaning & Analysis

The Souls III (gunmetal, silver gloss, oriental gold) is a print from Damien Hirst’s extensive series, The Souls, from 2010. The print shows a large butterfly with its wings outspread, set against a white backdrop. Depicted in gunmetal, silver and gold, the image of the butterfly has been rendered flat and simplified into block colours, obscuring the fine detail of the real butterfly wings.

Reminiscent of the work of Pop artist Andy Warhol, Hirst creates a vast series of prints, each with the same subject and composition. There are four species of butterflies depicted across The Souls series, each print showing one, within which there are 80 colour variations, each presented as an edition of 15. Hirst uses a foil block printing technique to give his butterflies a shimmering effect to represent the way their wings would reflect the light.

The butterfly motif is a prominent figure that Hirst has used throughout his career to bring together themes around morality, life, love, faith and aesthetics. Speaking of his obsession with butterflies Hirst has explained, “I think rather than be personal you have to find universal triggers: everyone’s frightened of glass, everyone’s frightened of sharks, everyone loves butterflies.”