Art intervention Serpentine Gallery in London, where he exhibited "Away from the Flock" (a sheep in a tank). An artist poured black ink into it, and was subsequently prosecuted, at Hirst's wish. The artist's defence was that he thought Hirst would benefit from the publicity and one critic (Tony Parsons) said the artist's action proved that what Damien Hirst does is art. The exhibit was restored at a cost of £1000. A notable case of an unauthorised intervention—which did no damage, yet was still liable for prosecution—occurred at 12.58 p.m. on October 25, 1999, when two artists, Yuan Chai and Jian Jun
Damien Hirst auction was conceived by Hirst's business advisor of 13 years, Frank Dunphy, who had to overcome Hirst's initial reluctance about the idea. Hirst eventually defended the concept and refuted the accusation that he was only interested in making money. The sale raised £111 million ($198 million) for 218 items. The auction exceeded expectations, and was ten times higher than the existing Sotheby's record for a single artist sale, occurring as the financial markets plunged. "The Sunday Times" said that Hirst's business colleagues had "propped up" the sale prices, making purchases or bids which totalled over half of the £70.5 million