Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Damien Hirst, whose own art hasn't fared well at recent auctions, paid $33.1 million for Francis Bacon's ``Self-Portrait'' at a New York sale last week, adding to his collection.

The U.K.'s wealthiest artist bought the Bacon at a Sotheby's Nov. 14 auction, said his spokeswoman, Jude Tyrrell, in an e-mail. He paid double the auction house's estimate for the portrait, while three out of four Hirst works on the same night sold near their low estimates.

Hirst, 42, has a fortune valued at 130 million pounds ($269 million) by the Sunday Times. He sold 130 million pounds of his trademark pickled animals at London's White Cube galleries earlier this year, and joined a group that invested in his diamond skull, leaving little new work on the market. His art collection runs from U.S. pop artist Jeff Koons to U.K. graffiti artists.

Hirst became the auction world's most expensive artist in June, when a pill cabinet sold for 9.7 million pounds in London. On Nov. 14, he lost that position to Koons, whose ``Hanging Heart'' object was bought for $23.6 million by New York dealer Larry Gagosian, who trades Hirst and Koons works.

Bacon's 14-by-12-inch ``Self Portrait'' was painted in 1969.

To contact the reporter on this story: Linda Sandler in London at lsandler@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 20, 2007 11:53 EST