IT’S time to shutter the home in the Hamptons and head back to the city. But before Manhattan’s moneyed join the traditional Labor Day traffic jam that marks the end of summer, there is art to be seen.

At the Bridge, a golf club in Bridgehampton where the annual fees are $600,000 (€407,972), Damien Hirst is previewing work from his upcoming auction, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever. The sale will include The Golden Calf, a cow with golden horns and hoofs suspended in the usual formaldehyde. It is expected to fetch $25m.

It is not just the Hamptons set who are getting an early viewing. Previews are taking place in London and New Delhi. The sale is like a greatest hits collection with numerous works from each of Hirst’s most popular series, including spin paintings, butterfly paintings, pharmaceutical cabinets, and animals suspended in tanks.

The works themselves may not be breaking any new ground for the artist, but Hirst is causing a stir nonetheless. The big news about this sale is Hirst’s decision to sell his art directly via Sotheby’s auction house, bypassing big-name gallery owners Larry Gagosian and Jay Joplin.

A fair slice of the people who can afford a $25m cow or a $2m butterfly painting will be in the Hamptons this weekend. Hirst and Sotheby’s do not need the gallery owners to tell them that. Nor does Britain’s most marketable artist need much help in generating publicity for himself.

L a s t s u m m e r ’ s H i r s t moment was the unveiling of his diamond-encrusted platinum skull, called For the Love of God, and put up for sale for $100m at Joplin’s White Cube gallery.

O n t h e w e b s i t e A rt Observed, Sotheby’s spokesman Oliver Barker says: “Damien is totally fearless. He’s not just an outstanding artist; he’s a cultural phenomenon.”

A cultural phenomenon who no longer needs a middle man. The decision has caused much chatter in the art world where galleries fear that other top artists may follow suit.

Galleries often take 50% of the sale price, but in return they offer new artists their big break, build their careers, broker deals and handle all the hassle artists do not want to get involved with or possess the social skills for.

Naturally, many of the Hamptons art set are on first name terms with top gallery owners. But for those new to the game, an auction wipes out all those embarrassing questions a good gallery will want answered.

Are you a genuine buyer or just looking to flip the work? What happens to the work when you die? Do we like you? At auction, it is all about cash. No back room deals, promises of museum donations, haggling for discount. Just money versus money.

After a record run, lean times threaten for the art market. As bonuses shrink and jobs are lost, art may lose its lustre. Galleries are going to feel the pinch too.

But Hirst is betting his brand can buck the market. For that to work, you need a name. There are few artists today with a brand name as recognisable as Hirst.

Perhaps the last big one was Salvador Dali - scorned for turning into a hackneyed pastiche of himself. Savvy Hirst says he is going to moth-ball the vitrines and dead animals after this sale.

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