Prankster Banksy’s Work Breaks Records At Auction
Eleven originals created by the cheeky, sneaky graffiti artist Banksy sold for over £540,000 at Bonham’s auction house in London last Wednesday. The Bristol-born artist, who has managed to keep his identity a secret despite worldwide notoriety, is a divisive figure in the art world, at once infuriating the establishment with his bold stunts and “vandalism,” while also emerging as somewhat of a folk hero and critical darling among the subversive set.
The auctioned works consisted of spray-painted stencils on canvas, board, and metal, along with a screen print of Princess Diana’s face populating a series of £10 notes where the Queen’s face would be. They were originally expected to fetch £300,000 in total. Last fall, Angelina Jolie bought a piece of his work for a reported £200,000.
From the Telegraph:
A stencilled image of two policeman, titled “Avon and Somerset Constabulary”, sold for £96,000 at London auctioneers Bonhams, thought to be a new auction-house record for the self-styled guerrilla artist who refuses to reveal his real name.
The previous record was £57,000, paid last October for his picture of Mona Lisa with spray paint dripping from her eyes.
…Gareth Williams, a Bonhams specialist, said: “Perhaps the most incredible aspect of the Banksy phenomenon is neither his meteoric rise, nor the substantial sums of money that his art now commands, but that as a self-confessed guerilla artist, he has been so wholeheartedly embraced by the very establishment he satirises.
“We are sure that this irony is not lost on today’s buyers.”
It’s safe to say that the irony is not lost on Banksy either. Across town in Tower Hamlets, officials prepare to paint over some of Banksy’s public works, the first London council to treat his work as vandalism. To the faceless artist who continues to elude capture while thrilling the public, the past week’s events must be nothing but highly amusing.
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