Graffiti Artist Banksy Set Auction Record at Sotheby's Auction

Written by Jari-Pekka Vanhala Monday, 26 December 2011 21:24

LONDON, ENGLAND - An auction record was set for graffiti artist Banksy after a set of Kate Moss paintings were sold in London for £50,400.  The six silk-screen prints, feature the model painted in the style of Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe pictures and sold for five times its estimated value. A stencil of a green Mona Lisa with paint dripping from her eyes sold for £57,600 at the Sotheby's auction.

A Sotheby’s spokeswoman stated, "It's quite sensational to go over five times the low estimate.  I believe Kate Moss was happy about Banksy using her image in an iconic way.  It's not often we sell works with spray paints but we'll be seeing a lot more of Banksy as he seems to be building up a global presence."

Banksy has become well known for his controversial stunts. He once tampered with Paris Hilton's CD, replacing copies with his own remixes and giving them titles such as Why am I Famous?  and What Have I Done?  At a recent Los Angeles sale, Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie was reported to have spent more than £200,000 on work by Banksy.

Banksy is a world renowned, Bristol-based graffiti artist whose artwork is often political and/or humorous in nature.

Confirmed Banksy art stunts :

Banksy has claimed responsibility for a number of high profile stunts.  These include the following:

• At London Zoo, he climbed into the penguin enclosure and painted 'We're bored of fish' in two meter high letters.
  
• At Bristol Zoo, he left the message 'Keeper smells - Boring Boring Boring' in the elephant enclosure.
  
• In March 2005, he placed subverted artworks in the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
  
• He put up a subverted painting in London's Tate Britain gallery.
  
• In May 2005 Banksy's version of primitive cave painting depicting a human figure hunting wildlife whilst pushing a shopping trolley was found hanging in the British Museum.  Upon discovery, the museum actually added it to their permanent collection.
  
• In August 2005, Banksy painted 9 images on the Palestinian side of the Israeli West Bank barrier, including an image of a ladder going up and over the wall and an image of children digging a hole through the wall.
  
• In April 2006, Banksy created a sculpture based on a crumpled red phone box with a pickaxe in its side, apparently bleeding, and placed it in a street in Soho.  It was later removed by Westminster Council.  BT released a press release, which said: "This is a stunning visual comment on BT's transformation from an old-fashioned telecommunications company into a modern communications services provider."
• In June 2006, Banksy stenciled an image of a naked man hanging out of a bedroom window on a wall in central Bristol, England.  The image sparked some controversy, with the Bristol City Council leaving it up to the public to decide whether it should stay or go.  After an internet discussion in which 97% (all but 6 people) supported the stencil, the city council decided it would be left on the building.
  
• In August/September 2006, Banksy replaced up to 500 copies of Paris Hilton's debut album, Paris, in 48 different UK record stores with his own cover art and remixes by Danger Mouse.  Music tracks were given titles such as "Why am I Famous?", "What Have I Done?" and "What Am I For?".  Several copies of the CD were purchased by the public before stores were able to remove them, some going on to be sold for as much as £750 on online auction websites.  The cover art depicted Paris Hilton digitally altered to appear topless.  Other pictures feature her with a dog's head replacing her own, and one of her stepping out of a luxury car, edited to include a group of homeless people, which included the caption 90% of success is just showing up.
  
• In September 2006, Banksy dressed an inflatable doll in the manner of a Guantanamo Bay detainment camp prisoner (orange jumpsuit, black hood, and handcuffs) and then placed the figure within the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California.

His street art, which combines graffiti with a distinctive stenciling technique, has appeared throughout London and various cities around the world, garnering him underground notoriety and widespread coverage in the mainstream media.

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