Hirst's Spectacular Skull

What to make of Damien Hirst's $100 million skull? It will sell, that much is clear: the buyer will not be the person with the most money, but rather the person with the most art-world clout. So more likely a reasonably established collector than some nouveau Chinese or Russian billionaire in it for the insta-cachet and the bling.

Bloomberg's Linda Sandler is comparing the skull to the price of a Hamptons estate, of all things, which seems a little peculiar until you recall that Tobias Meyer of Sotheby's once said that the price of a decent Rothko tracks quite closely the price of a big Park Avenue apartment. Prestige art, like prestige property, is unique, and the price dynamics can be quite similar.

Hirst's achievement here, should not be understated. The acres of press that this skull is receiving is testament to the fact that he has – again – created an icon which transcends the art world and resonates in the public's mind like the art of no other contemporary artist. (Jeff Koons, I'd say, would come a distant second in that competition: Hirst's real competitors in this space are all deceased, from Warhol and Dali all the way back through Pollock and Picasso to Leonardo.)

My guess is that the next time the skull is on public view, it will be as part of a major Hirst retrospective at the Tate. At that point, we'll be better placed to be able to judge just how well it stands up to -- or surpasses -- the rest of Hirst's art. But for the time being, it's fun just to sit back and enjoy the spectacle.