Banksy just pulled off the biggest prank in the art world!
On Friday in NYC, the elusive English artist shocked a room full of art lovers at Sotheby’s when one of his paintings sold for a whopping $1.4 million… and then self-destructed!!
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Witnesses say that seconds after Girl With Balloon was purchased, an alarm went off as the painting began to slide through the bottom of the picture frame, which was secretly rigged with a shredder.
Ch-ch-check out Banksy’s video explaining how he made it all happen:
OMG!!
So what does this mean for the anonymous buyer? We have to expect he’s pissed after spending that much money!
Sotheby’s director Alex Branczik released a statement saying:
“It appears we just got Banksy-ed”
He continues:
“We have not experienced this situation in the past where a painting spontaneously shredded, upon achieving a record for the artist. We are busily figuring out what this means in an auction context.We have talked with the successful purchaser who was surprised by the story. We are in discussion about next steps.”
Joey Syer, co-founder of MyArtBroker.com which sells Banksy pieces, says the now-shredded work of art is now more valuable than before:
“This is now part of art history in its shredded state and we’d estimate Banksy has added at a minimum 50% to its value, possibly as high as being worth £2m plus.”
Wow, crazy!
[Image via Banksy/Instagram]