Banksy Wall on eBay

Monday, January 14, 2008

“A work by graffiti artist Banksy has attracted bids of more than £200,000 on eBay.That’s despite the successful bidder having to cut out part of a concrete wall if they want to take it home. The stencilled design has so far received bids topping £207,000 with less than 24 hours until the deadline. It shows a classically-dressed painter putting the finishing touches to the real artist’s scrawled name. The work appeared in September outside a post-production company in Portobello Road, west London. It was created on a Sunday morning, when Banksy put scaffolding up and draped a cloth over it so he could work undetected. Only after he had finished and left the area did Luti Fagbendle, the owner of the firm, realise he had become a beneficiary of the Bristol-based artist’s latest creation. He put a Perspex sheet over the work to stop it getting vandalised and then put it on eBay. Any buyer must pay for the removal of the section of wall themselves if they want to take the painting away. Banksy’s representative said the work was his, but added that the artist would not comment on the sale.”