A Florida Woman Crashed Her Rolls-Royce Into a $3 Million Damien Hirst Sculpture

When you spend $3 million on a sculpture, you assume that it’ll remain in pretty good condition. That isn’t always the case, though, as a recent incident demonstrates.

Late last month, a woman in Palm Beach, Florida, crashed her Rolls-Royce into a Damien Hirst sculpture, Hypebeast reported on Tuesday. The 66-year-old’s convertible collided with the artwork in a backyard before smashing through a seawall and ending up on the beach. The driver was taken to a medical center, and nobody else was injured in the accident.

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The Hirst belongs to the hedge-fund manager and art collector Steven Tananbaum and his wife Lisa. Sphinx, as the piece is called, was part of the English artist’s 2017 series “Treasures From the Wreck of the Unbelievable,” in which he created several faux artifacts and a documentary telling the stories behind each piece. This particular sphinx-shaped sculpture is covered in coral and barnacles that fit right in with the Palm Beach aesthetic.

The Tananbaums said Sphinx sustained significant damage. In a photo published by the Palm Beach Daily News, you can see that the blue-chip piece was knocked off its pedestal. The driver did not seem to be intoxicated, according to police, but she wasn’t able to recall the hours leading up to the crash.

As for the Rolls, its condition is unknown. In photos, you can see the front of the vehicle resting on the sand while the rear sits on the seawall. It doesn’t seem too badly damaged, but it’s hard to tell from the images alone. The car appears to be either a Dawn or Phantom Drophead Coupé—again, it’s difficult to discern from the pics. Although both models are now discontinued, they are still likely to run you six figures on the second-hand market.

This isn’t the only high-profile car crash in recent months. In March, Pete Davidson took a Mercedes-Benz for a spin—right into a fire hydrant and then a home. Thankfully, nobody was injured in that wreck, either. Mind you, ruining a Merc, Hirst, or Rolls is still pretty heartbreaking.

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