Hirst sets sights on joining ranks of old masters

He is the most richly rewarded artist in the country – now Damien Hirst is out to show that he ranks alongside the very best.

The artist who has made his fortune with his trademark spot paintings and animals pickled in formaldehyde is displaying his latest works in the Wallace Collection, one of London’s most prestigious museums.

The 25 paintings – unlike the spot and spin paintings, they have all been hand-painted by the artist himself – will be shown in a space better known for its old master works by the likes of Titian, Rembrandt and Velázquez.

Mr Hirst has paid £250,000 to refurbish the galleries in which the paintings will be shown. The works, which deal with the artist’s usual preoccupations, death and mortality, were created between 2006 and 2008.

Mr Hirst said the idea of bringing the paintings to the Wallace Collection struck him when he took his children there.

“We went to Hamley’s [toy shop] to buy a sword but they have a no-weapons policy, so we came to the Wallace Collection instead,” he said at Tuesday’s launch.

“I always thought museums were for dead people so I have avoided being shown in them.”

He said his view changed after a display of his work was shown alongside Greek and Roman artefacts at the archaeological museum in Naples.

“There has only ever been one idea in art really: what are we doing here? Where do we come from? Where are we going?” he said.

He said the predominantly blue colour used in the works showed the influence of Francis Bacon, also citing the work of Rembrandt and Goya as inspiration.

One of the paintings features a vase of flowers surrounded by butterflies. “Everyone said it was shocking that I was painting again – I thought what would really be shocking was to paint some flowers. My mum always used to say to me: ‘Why don’t you paint some nice flowers?’”

Mr Hirst said he decided to stop making his spot-and-spin paintings after last year’s Sotheby’s auction, at which he sold £111m worth of works on the day that Lehman Brothers collapsed.

“I think it was bad timing, but we just got away with it,” he said. “It was too close for comfort.”

Rosalind Savill, director of the Wallace Collection, said the paintings had “a real connection” with the other work in the gallery.

“I love the idea of people queueing around the block,” she said, adding that it was important for the museum “to resonate with a wider type of artistic endeavour”.