Damien Hirst faces claims of plagiarism - 07/09/2010

Contemporary artist Damien Hirst is facing claims that 15 of his works have been inspired by other people's art pieces.

Charles Thomson, co-founder of the Stuckists art movement, which campaigns for traditional artistry, made these claims in art magazine The Jackdaw.

Mr Thomson has listed 15 works supposedly based on previous art pieces and eight of them are new instances of plagiarism.

One example cited is Pharmacy, which is an installation depicting a cabinet with bottles on shelves. This is allegedly based on a 1943 work by Joseph Cornell.

Another piece that is facing scrutiny is In Nomine Patris, which was created in 2005 and depicts a sheep in formaldehyde in the position of a crucifix.

Thomson claims that this work is based on the 1986 This is my Body This is my Blood by artist John Lekay.

He told the Guardian: "Hirst puts himself forward as a great artist, but a lot of his work exists only because other artists have come up with original ideas which he has stolen."

It is believed that Hirst will issue a comprehensive rebuttal. He was part of the Young British Artists movement and has claimed to be the richest living artist to date.

Posted by Max Byrne