A decade ago Damien Hirst unsettled the art Establishment by exhibiting at the Royal Academy of Arts, which he ridiculed as “a big, fat, stuffy old pompous institution”.

Now he may become the Establishment. The man dubbed art's enfant terrible has been invited by the Royal Academy to join its ranks as a Royal Academician (RA), one of those who govern the institution. Becoming an RA is one of the art world's highest honours.

But Hirst is playing hard to get, it seems. He has yet to let them know. He has until October to make his decision. One source suggested that he does not believe it is the right time.

Hirst made his name by pickling a shark before winning the Turner Prize in 1995 with an exhibition that included Mother and Child, Divided — the severed halves of a cow and calf preserved in formaldehyde.

If he joins the RA he will be following in the footsteps of Tracey Emin, a fellow Young British Artist who came to fame by showing a bed strewn with soiled underwear and stained sheets.

She caused a furore among RAs this week with her selections for the 2008 Summer Exhibition, including photographs of a woman's genitalia during menstruation and an automaton of a zebra having sex with a woman.

Hirst declined to comment.

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