Banksy secretly offers original artworks worth $30,000 for $60

 

A number of canvases by street artist Banksy sold in New York's Central Park on October 12 for a bargain $60 each.

Estimated to be worth over $30,000 a piece, the signed originals were offered from an unmarked stall to members of the public. There were few takers, with just three people purchasing anything from the stall - which took a paltry $420.

Banksy Love is in the Air
The sale featured some of the artist's most iconic works

It is the latest stunt from the street artist, who is currently in residency in New York, producing a new work of art every day for a month. Recent examples have included The Sirens of the Lambs, a slaughterhouse delivery truck packed with stuffed animals.

The artist told the Village Voice, a local newspaper: "I know street art can feel increasingly like the marketing wing of an art career, so I wanted to make some art without the price tag attached.

"There is no gallery show or book or film. It's pointless. Which hopefully means something."

The artist told the publication that he wanted to forgo exhibiting in galleries in the future, seeing his mainstream success as a mark of failure, and planned instead on returning to painting on the street.  

Banksy's work has seen both popular acclaim and huge commercial success in recent years, making his work highly sought after.

Keep it Spotless, a defaced Damien Hirst painting, achieved $1.8m in New York in 2008 - a record price for the artist. Simple Intelligence Testing, another canvas, made $1.2m in the same year.

View our original Damien Hirst for sale.

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