by A Damien Hirst shark preserved in formaldehyde bought by American billionaires has been dated back to the 1990s, although it was not made until 2017.
The 4 meter (13 foot) tiger shark, divided into three parts, is the centerpiece of a luxury bar in the Palms casino resort in Las Vegas. First performed at the Casino six years ago, with the title: An Unknown (Exploration, Explanations, Explosion), 1999.
However, an investigation by the Guardian has established that it was made in 2017, almost two decades after the date publicly assigned to the work. Billionaire brothers Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta III bought the statue, amid speculation it cost around $8m.
Related: Damien Hirst’s 1990s formaldehyde animal works were made in 2017
The giant shark is the fourth formaldehyde sculpture by Hirst now known to have been made in 2017, despite being dated to the 1990s. The other three, made with a pigeon, a small shark and two calves, have in recent years been exhibited with dates from the 1990s in galleries in Hong Kong, New York, Oxford and London.
The publication of some of Hirst’s formaldehyde works with dates that do not match the dates they were physically made has rocked the contemporary art world this week.
“Cases like this do not help to allay suspicions about the lack of transparency in the art world,” said Jo Baring, former director of Christie’s auction house in the UK. “Hirst is an artist with so much power, he is in high demand by museums, who want to increase their ticket sales, and also by collectors who want to touch the stardust. But that power means people are afraid to challenge or ask questions.”
Hirst did not directly answer questions when asked about the tiger shark piece, The Unknown. Sources familiar with the sculpture’s creation said it was made in 2017 in preparation for its installation in the hotel.
When it was first revealed to much fanfare in 2018, the casino described the never-before-seen tiger shark as a piece from the 1990s. The title of the work contained the date “1999”, usually provided by the artist, and included in promotional material.
It is widely understood that dates given to works of art refer to the year they were completed. However, in response to questions from the Guardian, Hirst’s company, Science Ltd, said the date the artist assigned to the formaldehyde works was not the same as the date they were made.
“Formaldehyde works are conceptual works of art and the date assigned to them by Damien Hirst is the conceptual date of the work,” the company said. “It has been clear over the years when asked what is important in conceptual art; It is not the physical making of the thing or the renewal of its parts, but the intention and the idea behind the work of art.”
Hirst’s lawyers later clarified that although the artist’s “normal approach” to formaldehyde works used the date of generation in the title, he sometimes used the date the sculptures were made. “The dating of works of art, and especially conceptual works of art, is not governed by any industry standard,” they said, adding: “Artists are entitled to be (and often are) inconsistent in their dating of works.”
That approach seems to be at odds, however, with widespread norms in the art world. Jon Sharples, a respected art and intellectual property lawyer, said that Hirst’s works were bought and sold in a market with a very real origin and origin.
“When there’s only one date mentioned in the title of a work of art, that’s the convention, and what I think most of those people would take is that it was first physically made that year,” he said. In that context, he advises dealers and artists to “err on the side of transparency” when it comes to dating their works.
Baring, who is the director of the Ingram Collection of Modern and Contemporary British Art, agreed about the convention. “There is definitely a good practice, which is to give the date of physical creation of the work, or if there is a big difference between generation and creation, to give both dates,” she said.
It is not known what information the Fertitta brothers received about the origin of the shark sculpture when they bought it. The brothers, who sold the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts promotion company for $4bn in 2016, declined to comment. So also did the Palms resort, which is now under different owners.
In 2018, the general manager of the Palms at the time gave an interview to the LA Times in which he revealed that the brothers had paid the same amount for the shark as US hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen had paid for a comparable tiger shark in 2004 Estimates vary for the cost of that piece, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991), a slightly larger tiger shark. However, it is said to have cost Cohen between $8m and $12m.
Whatever the Fertitta brothers paid for the Hirst shark, it added to their already substantial collection of the artist’s work, which they had been building for years. After purchasing the Palms casino and hotel in 2016, they set about filling it with contemporary art by Hirst and others. The hotel still boasts a luxury suite designed by Hirst, which costs $75,000 per night.
But the shark was the crowning glory of their $620m renovation of the Palms complex. It was brought in under cover of darkness, installed in secret, and the unveiling of the statue in May 2018 attracted the attention of the US press.
In press materials distributed to news media and magazines, the Palms casino announced the official title of the work, along with its date of “1999”. The same date was used in licensed photographs of the sculpture and sponsored content paid for by the casino that described the piece as “an important work from the artist’s Natural History series”.
The Fertitta brothers sold the Palms casino in December 2021 to the San Manuel Indian Mission Band. One source at the resort said the shark statue would remain on loan to the resort until at least 2025.
Hirst has rarely made public statements about the work, although he has occasionally posted about it on his Instagram account. He did so, for example, in May 2018, shortly after the shark was installed, and just a few months after it was now known that it was made at his workshop in Dudbridge, Gloucestershire.
“I’ve known Frank and Lorenzo for many years so when they asked me if they could put my statue of a shark from their collection – ‘The Unknown (Explored, Explored, Exploded)’ – in the @palms bar I thought it was amazing,” he wrote.
In a later Instagram post, from September 2022, Hirst published three photographs of himself encased in gold jewelery standing in front of the sculpture, which was then five years old. In one, it is beating.
“If you’re near Vegas drop by my unknown bar at the @palms casino and have a drink!” He wrote. “Thanks to everyone at the Palms for keeping my art looking so good!”
Additional reporting by Dan Hernandez in Las Vegas
