Modern art exhibition sale opens

This Damien Hirst original will set you back £13,000

A selling exhibition of modern works by leading British artists including Damien Hirst and Lucian Freud is opening at Erddig Hall in Wrexham.

The show, featuring paintings, sculpture, drawings and original prints by 30 artists, will run until 1 August.

Costing £16,000, a piece by Victor Pasmore called Idea for Green Darkness is the most expensive in the sale.

Elsewhere, works by Damien Hirst and Lucian Freud are priced at £13,000 and £12,000.

Erin Robinson, from Erddig, said the staff were "deeply honoured" to hold the "stunning collection".

"Every piece of artwork on show is original and was made by the artist - they are extremely hard to find," she said.

The exhibition is touring four National Trust properties and curator Caroline Wiseman said it was the first time she had organised a modern art tour in this way.

The exhibition at Erddig will run until August

"We have sold lots of pieces and the National Trust have said they have had huge numbers of visitors," she said.

"The 30 artists have been chosen because they all have a modern perspective on the world.

"Not all are alive but they are still relevant to us today," she added.

All works are for sale with a percentage of the proceeds benefiting the National Trust.

Pieces include Damien Hirst's Ethidium Bromide Aqueous Solution (£13,000), Francis Bacon's Study for a Portrait of John Edwards (£8,000) and Lucian Freud's Head of a Woman (£12,000).

The exhibition has already been to Nunnington Hall in Yorkshire and Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, and will move onto Petworth House, Sussex, in September.