Formaldehyde sheep stars in Hirst exhibition
A sheep cased in formaldehyde will signal a return of the work of Leeds artist Damien Hirst to the city next summer.
The artist started his career as a student at Leeds College of Art and Design and work from throughout his career will be featured in the exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery from July 2011. It is part of the Artist Rooms programme run by the Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. The preserved sheep, right, titled Away from the Flock, was one of a number of works involving dead animals that made Hirst famous in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, a 17ft-wide butterfly painting by the artist I Am Become Death, Shatterer Of Worlds – echoing the words of scientist J Robert Oppenheimer after the first atom bomb test – sold for 2,169,250 at Christie's post-war and contemporary sale in London last night, slightly down on the pre-sale estimates.