By IANS,
London : A British taxi driver received a sketch, which looks little more than a doodle, as a tip from Damien Hirst, the artist well-known for pickling a shark in formaldehyde. The doodle is now said to be worth 5,000 pounds, a media report said.
Hirst got on well with taxi driver Jon Horsley, 40, during a 30-minute ride from Chelsea Harbour to Mayfair about 18 months ago. He then handed over a sketch with the 20 pound fare, Daily Mail reported Monday.
Art experts have now valued it at 1,500 pounds and and said it could even fetch up to 5,000 pounds at auction.
Hirst took just a few minutes to produce the pencil drawing in the back of the taxi. It features a shark, butterfly and skull, which are elements from some of his most famous art works.
The artist then went on to sign it for Horsley’s 15-year-old son who is studying art.
The artist, who is known for covering a skull in diamonds, has been dubbed the ‘enfant terrible’ of the art world.
“He’s an incredible artist, one of the best we have. This is a lovely little drawing. It’s childlike. It’s wonderful. It makes you laugh and smile. That’s its charm,” Mary McCarthy, contemporary art director at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury, who will auction the sketch in nine days, was quoted as saying.
Hirst’s fortune reportedly topped 235 million pounds last year.