IT has always been recognised as one of his most powerful sculptures, and is a centrepiece of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh where it has been admired by countless thousands of visitors.
It’s not known how many of those visitors realised that the sculpture Wretched War by Damien Hirst has only ever been on loan to the Gallery, but yesterday there was announcement that will please his fans – the sculpture has been donated permanently to the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS).
The donation came from Hirst’s former business manager, Frank Dunphy, and his wife Lorna.
Hirst, below, created Wretched War in 2004. It features a pose borrowed from Edgar Degas’s famous sculpture Nude Study for ‘The 14-Year-Old Dancer’ (c.1880), a bronze cast of which is in the National Galleries of Scotland’s collection.
NGS said following the announcement: “The sculpture encapsulates the theme which has been central to Damien Hirst’s art: life versus death. It has been given to the National Galleries of Scotland through the Cultural Gifts Scheme, administered by the Arts Council, by Frank Dunphy.”
Between 1995 and 2015 Dunphy was Hirst’s business manager and financial adviser. During that time, Dunphy revolutionised the market in contemporary art.
He conceived the auction sale of the artworks in Hirst’s Pharmacy restaurant at Sotheby’s in 2004 and in 2008 went further, sidestepping the traditional Gallery route and taking Hirst’s new work direct to auction.
The sale at Sotheby’s in London made more than £100 million and changed the art world forever.
During their professional relationship, the Dunphys assembled a collection of Hirst’s work, including gifts from other artists and works acquired through galleries and auctions. The Dunphys are long-term supporters of the NGS.
Simon Groom, director of modern and contemporary art, said: “We are enormously grateful to Frank for gifting this incredible sculpture to the Galleries. It originally came on loan in 2007 and has been seen in many different displays over the years. It’s one of the most popular works we have. I am thrilled that our visitors can continue to see this iconic sculpture and that it finds its permanent home here.”
Dunphy said: “We have had a long association with the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art and felt this was an appropriate home for Wretched War. We are very grateful that the Gallery, through the Cultural Gift Scheme, have accepted this work.”
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