09 October 2018 - Banksy Artwork Self-Destructs After £1m Auction Sale
Banksy Art Shreds Itself
Lulu Garcia-Navarro (NPR, 07/10/2018)
The secretive artist Banksy is known for the political street art he paints in cities around the world. On Friday night, one of his paintings of a small girl and a heart-shaped red balloon just out of reach went to auction at Sotheby's in London and sold for almost $1.4 million. But the room and, presumably, the painting's anonymous buyer were in for a surprise. I asked New York magazine's art critic Jerry Saltz to explain.
Banksy auction stunt leaves art world in shreds
Chris Johnston (The Guardian, 06/10/2018)
Banksy has played what could be one of the most audacious stunts in art history, arranging for one of his best-known works to self-destruct after being sold at auction for just over £1m.
Girl With Balloon was the final item in an auction at Sotheby’s in London on Friday night and its sale price equalled the artist’s previous auction record of £1.04m.
Shortly after the hammer came down on the item, however, the canvas began to pass through a shredder installed in the frame.
Who was in on Banksy's 'self-destruct' art stunt?
Hilary Clarke (CNN, 08/10/2018)
The auction house says it didn't know anything about it. The artist famously doesn't like to show his face. The buyer is a mystery. So, for that matter, is the seller.
In the case of the "self-destructing Banksy," nothing adds up.
The startling stunt at Sotheby's in London on Friday has set the art world aflame. The image of a girl reaching out for a red, heart-shaped balloon had just sold for $1.4 million.
Banksy posts video of £1m painting shredding stunt at Sotheby's
(BBC News, 06/10/2018)
Banksy has released a video showing how he secretly built a shredder into one of his paintings that self-destructed after it was sold for more than £1m.
The framed Girl With Balloon, one of the artist's best known works, was auctioned by Sotheby's in London.
Moments after the piece was sold, the canvas of a girl reaching for a heart-shaped balloon shredded itself.