Damien Hirst's Record-Breaking Auction: The End of an Art Market Era

The longest bull run in art-market history, spanning a century, came to a dramatic end on September 15th, 2008. On that day, Sotheby's in London hosted an auction of 56 works by Damien Hirst, titled 'Beautiful Inside My Head Forever.' All but two pieces were sold, fetching over ﾣ70 million, setting a record for a sale by a single artist. This was a last victory. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York, one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy.