Last Monday, a Florida man was jailed for six months (with five years probation) for selling a fake Damien Hirst after a jury had found him guilty of second degree grand larceny in April 2014.

Although Kevin Sutherland had no criminal record (not to mention that he was a pastor!), the New York State Supreme Court judge found the sentence was warranted because Mr Sutherland had tried to sell the work to an undercover police officer, despite knowing that it had been rejected by Sotheby’s, who had consultated with Hirst’s London studio.

For some, this is an opportunity to bemoan the paintings of Hirst, which are ‘talentless and phoney as hell‘, and to pity the poor pastor. That being said, Mr Sutherland did seek a substantial benefit from the transaction: he attempted to sell the forged work for the rather audacious sum of $185,000 (£110,000).