Shredded Banksy Painting Sells for Record-Setting $25.4 Million
The work, which was partially shredded as a “prank” after it came to auction in 2018, soared past its high estimate at Sotheby’s in London.
A partially destroyed Banksy painting sold at auction on Thursday at Sotheby’s in London for more than 18 times what it went for just three years ago. It’s the most expensive work by the artist to sell at auction, ever.
The piece, then called Girl with Balloon, made headlines around the world in Oct. 2018 when it self-destructed immediately after selling at Sotheby’s for about £1 million ($1.2 million at the time). The artist claimed it was a “prank,” and the auction house disclaimed any complicity in the stunt, raising many an eyebrow.