Art lovers continued to defy the economic gloom yesterday, spending another £41m at Sotheby's London auction of new works by Damien Hirst and throwing down a challenge to the way art is sold.

More than £111m ($198m) of work changed hands in the two-day auction, well above Sotheby's estimate of £98m. Mr Hirst said he was "exhausted and amazed that my art is selling while banks are falling".