Banksy's Street Art Hits Major Auctions
Banksy's original artworks are now leading 'Street Art and Culture' auctions, signaling street art's migration from exterior walls to high-profile salesrooms attracting traditional collectors and younger investors. A new Banksy mural in London shows two children, while 'The Art of Banksy Without Limits' exhibit opened in San Diego with touring exhibitions blending original pieces with immersive installations.
The record for a Banksy artwork at auction is held by "Love is in the Bin," which sold for £18.58 million ($25.4 million) in 2021. This piece was famously created live at a 2018 auction when his "Girl with Balloon" painting partially self-destructed via a hidden shredder in its frame immediately after being sold for £1.1 million. Other multi-million-pound sales include "Game Changer," a piece gifted to a UK hospital during the pandemic that fetched £16.8 million for the National Health Service, and "Devolved Parliament," a depiction of the House of Commons filled with chimpanzees that sold for £9.9 million. These high-profile sales have cemented street art's position as a lucrative category for investment. "The Art of Banksy: Without Limits" is an unauthorized exhibition that has traveled to cities across Europe, Asia, and North America, drawing over 2.1 million visitors. The show features over 200 works, including original art, prints, photos, and sculptures, alongside recreations of his street murals and installations like a replica of a security checkpoint from his "Dismaland" bemusement park. The new mural in west London, confirmed by the artist on Instagram, appeared on a garage wall in Bayswater. It depicts two children in winter clothes lying on their backs and seemingly gazing at the sky. An identical, unconfirmed piece also appeared outside the Centre Point tower, a building historically associated with homelessness, leading to interpretations that the work is a statement on the plight of homeless children. To manage his market and combat forgeries, Banksy established an authentication body called Pest Control. This entity is the sole authority for verifying his works, and its rigorous, often lengthy, certification process is crucial for a piece to be considered legitimate for auction, thereby maintaining a tightly controlled supply.
