BRITISH ARTIST DAMIEN HIRST DONATES FOUR WORKS TO TATE MUSEUMS

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LONDON (AP) — British artist Damien Hirst has donated four of his works to the Tate collection, including a replica of his prize-winning installation of bisected cows in formaldehyde, the museum said.

The donation is the first of a series that the 42-year-old Hirst plans to make to the national British art collection as part of a pledge he and 23 other leading artists made in 2004 to give significant works to the museum.

“I’ve been in negotiations with the Tate for a few years to make sure they get the right pieces to represent me properly,’’ Hirst said in a statement. “I think giving works from my collection is a small thing if it means millions of people get to see the work displayed in a great space.’’

Tate director Nicholas Serota said donations from artists such as Hirst were crucial to keep the museum’s collection current amid soaring art prices.

A Hirst piece set a record in June for the highest price paid at auction for a work by a living artist, selling for $19.1 million. That record was broken last month when a sculpture by American artist Jeff Koons sold for $23.6 million.

Hirst’s donation includes “The Acquired Inability to Escape,’’ a glass cabinet containing a chair and desk with a used ashtray on it; “Life Without You,’’ an arrangement of sea shells on a table; and “Who is Afraid of the Dark?’,’ a canvas covered in dead flies.

The most recognizable piece is an exhibition copy of “Mother and Child, Divided,’’ a bisected cow and a calf displayed in four tanks of formaldehyde. The original, which is held by the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo, Norway, won the Turner Prize in 1995.

The works can be displayed in the Tate Modern, the Tate Britain, both in London, or the museum’s galleries in Liverpool or Cornwall