An original art work by the legendary street artist, Banksy, for a Greenpeace Save or Delete campaign photographic poster, sold for £78,000 ($122,098) on January 11 at Bonhams in London. The work auctioned as part of Bonhams' Urban Art sale.
The unique piece which, impressively, was given to the vendor by the anonymous artist himself was among a host of Banksy's that brought top prices in the sale.
It was commissioned by Greenpeace to highlight the problems of global deforestation as part of their Save or Delete campaign and features some of the main characters from Disney's The Jungle Book transposed onto a picture of a devastated forest.
 Commissioned by Greenpeace, this unused Banksy sold for £78,000 |
Intended for use on posters, billboards and postcards, it was printed but never put into circulation because of the protectionist policies at Disney. It is believed that the vendor of this lot is donating a percentage of the proceeds to Greenpeace.
Other Banksy highlights in the sale included Portrait of an Artist, circa 1998, believed to be the first work that he created for sale. It sold for £60,000.
Other works to achieve excellent prices included a performance piece created by American graffiti artist, Futura 2000, for punk rock band The Clash's Combat Rock tour. The piece sold for £38,400 (above its estimate of £15,000 - 20,000).
 An early Banksy: Portrait of an Artist, circa 1998 |
According to Bonhams, its Urban Art sale saw an enormous turn-out and competitive bidding (both on the phone and in the room) following the auction house's two-year break from holding Urban Art auctions.
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