Anonymous British Artist Banksy’s UK Parliament Painting Sells For $12.1 Million
Anonymous British street artist Banksy’s painting depicting the British parliament occupied by chimpanzees broke several records and fetched nearly 9.9 million pounds, Sotheby’s auction house said.
Created in 2009, Banksy’s work entitled “Devolved Parliament” sold for 9,879,500 pounds ($12.1 million, 11.1 million euros) after a 13-minute battle between 10 different bidders.
"Record price for a Banksy painting set at auction tonight. Shame I didn't still own it," the artist posted on his Instagram account.
"Record price for a Banksy painting set at auction tonight. Shame I didn't still own it," the artist posted on his Instagram account.
The previous auction record for a Banksy artwork was $1.87 million, achieved by "Keep it Spotless" at Sotheby's New York in 2008. The oil painting measures 4.2 metres by 2.5 metres unframed -- the largest known canvas by the anonymous artist. The highly revered painting shows chimpanzees on the green benches of the House of Commons, from the viewpoint of the main entrance. The painting is getting a lot of traction not just because of the auction but because of the current political environment of Britain which is heading towards Brexit. "What he's pointing to here is the regression of the oldest parliamentary democracy in the world into tribalistic animalistic behaviour, the sort that we've seen broadcasted on our televisions," said Alex Branczik, Sotheby's European head of contemporary art "The real genius of Banksy is his ability to reduce this incredibly complex debate into one single simple image, which importantly is very readily shared in this age of social media and a very image-consuming population," Branczik added. Banksy first named the painting “Question Time” and sold it in 2011. He got the painting out again for March 29 this year, when Britain was originally due to leave the European Union.
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