Banksy chimp parliament sells for $12M
October 4, 2019
A large painting by secretive street artist Banksy depicting chimpanzees debating in the British Parliament sold for nearly $12 million (€10.9 million) at a London auction house on Thursday.
Auctioneers Sotheby's estimated the 2009 oil painting "Devolved Parliament" would sell for 1.5 million to 2 million pounds, but a 13-minute bidding war drove the hammer price up to 8.5 million pounds, for a total of 9,879,500 pounds including fees.
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Sotheby's said it was a record price for a Bansky work of art.
"Record price for a Banksy painting set at auction tonight. Shame I didn't still own it," Banksy wrote on Instagram beside a quote from art critic Robert Hughes.
"... The price of a work of art is now part of its function, its new job is to sit on the wall and get more expensive. Instead of being the common property of humankind the way a book is, art becomes the particular property of someone who can afford it," the Instagram post quoted Hughes as saying.
Underneath, one person commented: "You should have shredded it again."
Controversial art
The sale came a year after another Banksy canvas, "Girl with Balloon," shredded itself at a Sotheby's auction after being sold for $1.3 million.
Although the 4-meter long (13-foot) "Devolved Parliament" was crafted a decade ago, Bristol Museum displayed it again in March to mark the date when Britain had been scheduled to leave the European Union.
"I made this 10 years ago. Bristol museum have just put it back on display to mark Brexit day. 'Laugh now, but one day no one will be in charge,'" Banksy wrote on Instagram at the time.
The artist, said to be from Bristol, keeps his identity a secret and is known for his political and social-commentary graffiti work around the world.
cw/cmk (dpa, Reuters)