10-year-old graffiti is worth millions
With Miami Art Week in full swing, the anonymous street-artist from the UK - Banksy - is celebrating the sale of another of his creations. A framed image of the beloved Peanuts cartoon character, Charlie Brown, portrayed as an arsonist, has sold for $4 million at the Maddox Gallery.
The image is a reproduction on a canvas, of graffiti produced by Banksy, originally found on the wall of an apartment building in Los Angeles that had been partially consumed by a fire in 2011.
A controversial (and wealthy) artist
Banksy is best known for his satirical stenciled graffiti that tends to appear randomly around the world. It often takes a swipe at news and current events around the world, and many of his pieces have sold for vast sums of money. The Maddox Gallery has a full exhibition of other Banksy pieces for sale during Miami's Art Week, offered for sale at prices starting at around $660k up to over $6 million.
His works of art are highly collectible and fetch mind-blowing sums. Earlier this year, one of his paintings that had been partly shredded, live before an audience in 2018 was sold in its partially shredded state. It fetched over $21 million!
Building owners made rich by Banksy
Those who paint graffiti on buildings are often considered vandals - but if Banksy happens to paint one of his creations on your property and it can be verified, it could make you very rich indeed.
In 2019, a confirmed Banksy image - known as 'Seasons Greetings' appeared on a garage building in South Wales, UK - after the piece was verified by Banksy himself, the owner of the building sold it for a six-figure sum. The building was dismantled so the artwork could be moved.
This summer, another Banksy mural appeared on a building in Lowestoft, UK, featuring an image of a child playing on the beach with a crowbar. The building was promptly dismantled and the piece of it featuring the artwork has since been shipped to the US where it's expected to sell for millions of dollars.
With his artwork commanding such mind-blowing sums of money, many building owners could be forgiven for hoping one of Banksy's creations will appear on their property - it could signify quite a payday!
What do you think of Banksy's artwork? Do you think it's right that such sums of money are paid for art or could the money be put to better use? Let me know in the comments section below.
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