a half-shredded canvas in an ornate frame bearing a spray-painted image of a girl reaching for a heart-shaped red balloon.
Partially shredded Banksy artwork back up for auction
A Banksy painting that partially shredded itself after being sold at auction is going back under the hammer (from 4 September).
When it last sold at Sotheby’s in October 2018, the piece was known as Girl with Balloon. 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.
Sotheby’s had described the work created in the stunt as “the ultimate Banksy artwork.”
Banksy, 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 male police officers 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.”
BANKSY
Several of his works have sold for multiple millions at auction. In March, a Banksy mural honouring Britain’s health workers, first painted on a hospital wall, sold for £16.8m ($32.7m) at a Christie’s auction, a record for the artist.
Girl with Balloon was originally stencilled on a wall in east London and has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy’s best-known images.
