Saturday, March 31, 2012

Graffiti artist Banksy £400,000 triumphs as seventeen art works sell at Bonhams Urban Art Sale (from ArtDaily.org)





 
 

Banksy:  Bomb Hugger
 


LONDON.-  March 31, 2012


Seventeen art works by the celebrated graffiti artist, Banksy, went under the hammer last night (29 March) as part of Bonhams Urban Art Sale, selling for a total of £405,425. Exceptional prices were achieved for three original works by the artist. Leopard and Barcode, acquired directly from an exhibition entitled Existencilism at the 33 1/3 Gallery, Los Angeles by the present owner and never before been seen at auction, sold for £75,650; Love is in the Air, 2002, £87,650; and Bomb Hugger, £49,250. Banksy highlights also included Banksy’s Girl and Balloon, 2009, which sold for £73,250; Happy Choppers, £13,125; and Nola, £12,500. 






Banksy, Girl and Balloon



Top prices were also paid for O Anniversario da Meretris, 2008 by Os Gemeos (£73,250); Shepard Fairey’s Take Action, 2005 (£24,375); and an untitled piece by Cyclops (£15,000). In total, the sale realised £742,550 with 92% sold by value. Alan Montgomery, Urban Art Specialist at Bonhams, said: "Our results in last night’s auction prove that the demand for works by Banksy is stronger than ever, and the interest in Urban Art continues to grow. It appears that it is now a truly global phenomenon, attracting bidders from around the world. We look forward to our next sale, and intend to include an exciting mix of big names and emerging talent in this rapidly developing area of the art market." 






Banksy, Love is in the Air



NOTE:  I think I’ll just let this one speak (or sigh) for itself.  To put it in some context, however, I just finished listening to My Back Pages (Byrds version) when I was exercising and find it (still) timely and relevant.  Funny how Jane’s just getting into this stuff now that it’s well and truly over.  (See Alan Montgomery’s remarks above.)  I would like to add, however, that I think Shephard Fairey’s work is simply awful and that the headline is like some dreadful pre-April Fool joke. 
Lot 214 - Banksy (b. 1975), Love is in the Air. Photo: Bonhams. LONDON.- Seventeen art works by the celebrated graffiti artist, Banksy, went under the hammer last night (29 March) as part of Bonhams Urban Art Sale, selling for a total of £405,425. Exceptional prices were achieved for three original works by the artist. Leopard and Barcode, acquired directly from an exhibition entitled Existencilism at the 33 1/3 Gallery, Los Angeles by the present owner and never before been seen at auction, sold for £75,650; Love is in the Air, 2002, £87,650; and Bomb Hugger, £49,250. Banksy highlights also included Banksy’s Girl and Balloon, 2009, which sold for £73,250; Happy Choppers, £13,125; and Nola, £12,500. Top prices were also paid for O Anniversario da Meretris, 2008 by Os Gemeos (£73,250); Shepard Fairey’s Take Action, 2005 (£24,375); and an untitled piece by Cyclops (£15,000). In total, the sale realised £742,550 with 92% sold by value. Alan Montgomery, Urban Art Specialist at Bonhams, said: "Our results in last night’s auction prove that the demand for works by Banksy is stronger than ever, and the interest in Urban Art continues to grow. It appears that it is now a truly global phenomenon, attracting bidders from around the world. We look forward to our next sale, and intend to include an exciting mix of big names and emerging talent in this rapidly developing area of the art market."

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6 comments:

  1. John PtakMarch 31, 2012 at 10:05 AM

    I still believe that Warhol was a black comedy taken seriously. It all just seems so unlikely to me...

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  2. ACravanMarch 31, 2012 at 10:23 AM

    Hi. Responded on Facebook. Thanks for looking at this. Gray day. Off to a lesson (for Jane). Then The Hunger Games (??) Curtis

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  3. Nin AndrewsMarch 31, 2012 at 12:39 PM

    Art pricing and success always confuses me. Interesting though, and funny to think of Jane listening to your music and you at her movies. Would like to hear how you like the film.

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  4. ACravanMarch 31, 2012 at 5:49 PM

    Jane's very musical and a good and already fairly accomplished musician. She listens to all the things her 9th grade friends listen to (with enthusiasm and some reservations), but she has always liked Howlin' Wolf, Carl Perkins, The Byrds, The Kinks and, recently, Del Shannon, just like her father. The Hunger Games was well made and the actors (the ones that were given actual roles to play) were very good. But it's a pretty horrible film about such a horrifying subject with such a hollow moral center (almost a vacuum) that it seems immoral to show it to its intended audience. The idea of lining up to a midnight screening of it, as happened last week, is pretty sick-making. I sort of take these things more seriously than Jane, who takes it in stride and seemingly with more perspective. The books, which she read and we delved into with and for her, aren't as morally bankrupt. They suggest, as they should, the kinds of things people are capable of becoming in desperate, concentration camp-like, situations. But telescoped into movie time and space, it becomes just another fancy piece of junk, complete with a sort of phoned-in Donald Sutherland, who I think was directed out of screen relevance (unfortunately). And that's the story. As for art pricing and success, your guess is as good as or better than mine. Curtis

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  5. Thiruppathy RajaAugust 23, 2012 at 12:20 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. ACravanAugust 23, 2012 at 5:36 AM

    Thanks for writing. Please do return. I'm very happy you liked this. Curtis

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