Three years later a shredded Banksy artwork returns to auction to probably go for a whacking price
Three years after spontaneously shredding itself the very second it sold at auction, a painting of a young girl holding a red heart shaped balloon by mysterious British artist Banksy is going back under the hammer next month with a price tag of up to $8 million. Four times more than it sold for in 2018.
Onlookers gasped in amazement and horror after the bottom half of the painting, then titled "Girl with Balloon" was chewed up by a shredder hidden in its frame, as the hammer fell at a bid of 1,042,000 pounds at an October 2018 auction at Sotheby's in London.
At the time, the buyer wasn't put off and proceeded with the purchase and the artwork, since authenticated as a work in itself and renamed 'Love is in the Bin'. This time around it's being offered for sale with a price estimate of 4 million - 6 million pounds ($5.54 million - $8.31 million).
Oliver Barker, Sotheby's European chairman says, 'It's gone up tremendously, nearly four times, obviously, since that last time. But I think also in the interim, Banksy's market commercially has also grown exponentially.'
In March, a Banksy painting showing a boy playing with a toy nurse as a superhero sold for more than $20 million, setting an auction record for the artist.
"Love is in the Bin" will be displayed at Sotheby's in London before going to Hong Kong, Taipei and New York and returning to the British capital for the Oct. 14 sale. Hopefully still in one piece!