Half-shredded Banksy could fetch over $5 million at auction
The Banksy artwork consists of a half-shredded canvas bearing a spray-painted image of a girl reaching for a heart-shaped red balloon
Banksy art sells for $1.4 million then self-destructs
Banksy original shreds seconds after being sold
A Banksy artwork that sensationally self-shredded just after it sold for $1.4 million is up for sale again — at several times the previous price.
SOTHEBY'S WILL ACCEPT BITCOIN FOR BANKSY PAINTING AUCTION
Auctioneer Sotheby’s said Friday that "Love is in the Bin" will be offered at a sale in London on Oct. 14. The piece has a pre-sale estimate of 4 million pounds to 6 million pounds ($5.5 million to $8.3 million).
Art handlers at Sotheby's auction house hold Banksy's 'Love is in the Bin', before it returns to auction at Sotheby's, London, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP / AP Newsroom)
It consists of a half-shredded canvas bearing a spray-painted image of a girl reaching for a heart-shaped red balloon.
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Then known as "Girl With Balloon," the work was sold at Sotheby’s in October 2018. Just as an anonymous European buyer made the winning bid, a hidden shredder embedded in the frame by Banksy whirred to life, leaving half the canvas hanging from the frame in strips.
The buyer decided to go through with the purchase — a decision that would be vindicated if the picture achieves its estimated price.
A member of Sotheby's auction house staff views Banksy's 'Love is in the Bin', before it returns to auction at Sotheby's, London, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP / AP Newsroom)
Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s chairman of Modern and Contemporary Art, described "Love is in the Bin" as "the ultimate Banksy artwork and a true icon of recent art history."
"Love is in the Bin was born of the most spectacular artistic happening of the 21st century," he said. "When ‘Girl With Balloon’ ‘self-destructed’ in our saleroom, Banksy sparked a global sensation that has since become a cultural phenomenon."
The artwork will travel and go on public display in London, Hong Kong, Taipei and New York ahead of its sale next month.
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A Sotheby's auction house staff take photos of Banksy's 'Love is in the Bin', before it returns to auction at Sotheby's, London, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP / AP Newsroom)
Bansky, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. His mischievous and often satirical images include two policemen kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words, "Laugh now, but one day I’ll be in charge."
"Girl With Balloon" was originally stenciled on a wall in east London and has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy’s best-known images.