Damien Hirst donated his painting to the Cradles of Hope Programme implemented in Ukraine by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation

The £300 000 proceeds from selling the «Dark Days» by Damien Hirst will be handed over to the Cradles of Hope, a programme developed by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and aimed at providing aid to newborns in Ukraine. The work of art created in 2008 and donated by the renowned British artist to the Foundation was auctioned at the Sotheby's on 5 February.

Damien Hirst: "I'm really delighted with the auction result, it really is great that people are still buying paintings and in these troubled times its good to still be able to give to worthy causes like "Cradle of hope" that help to reduce the level of infant mortality in the Ukraine. It's easier to be philanthropic when times are good but I think, contrary to what a lot of people believe, that it's even more important to be philanthropic in a deepening financial crisis."

Victor Pinchuk: "Damien himself has chosen the programme he'd like to take part in. And I'm happy that we share the views on the philanthropic priorities and things of paramount importance. The right of a little human being to live - is something that is worth fighting for. And now we fight hand in hand. So in this case, "art saves the world" in its literal meaning."

In 2007 Damien Hirst participated in the Reflections exhibition at the PinchukArtCentre (Kyiv, Ukraine), and in 2008 joined the "Time to be together" action carried out during Paul McCartney's "Independence concert" organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in June 2008 in Kyiv.