Bonhams Urban Sale is a Banksy Surrealist feast as ‘Street Paintings’ make art world traffic

LONDON.- As the prices achieved by Banksy at auction continue to rise, Bonhams presents a selection of his most iconic images in their next Urban Art auction, to be held in London on 17th April.

Three original stencil spray paint works will be included in the auction, with estimates ranging between £10,000 and £100,000.

The auction’s star lot is a Banksy diptych canvas entitled “Monkey Detonator”, which displays his typical sense of surrealist humour. Measuring 152 by 76 cm., this painting carries an estimate of £70,000-100,000.

“Kids on Guns” is an example of the artist in more political mood, this canvas, which rarely appears at auction, being offered at £50,000-70,000. Like many of Banksy’s most famous creations, at first glance the painting may seem rather sweet, but on closer inspections its vision is much more sinister.

Banksy (b. 1975), Monkey Detonator, 152 x 76 cm. Estimate: £70,000-100,000. Photo: Bonhams.

“Flower Chucker” is one of Banksy’s most recognisable images, with its portrayal of a rioter throwing a bunch of flowers encapsulating the anarchic yet wistful aesthetic so typical of the artist. A work on cardboard, this lot is being offered at £10,000-15,000.

In addition, the sale will feature a selection of Banksy’s best-known screenprints, including his stunning portrait of “Kate Moss” from 2005, which wittily subverts the “Marylin” canvases created by Andy Warhol with an unmistakeably 21st Century twist.

Also included in the auction is an important collection of works by some of the greatest names in 1980s New York graffiti, including Taki 183, Futura 2000, Blade and TKid. Emerging from the same scene that produced Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, these artists were the first to take graffiti off the street and into the fine-art gallery, opening the way for the new generation of Urban Artists who have since emerged in Paris, Bristol and London.

“We are excited to be including such a broad range of Street Art in this auction, including works by its founding fathers as well as its recent stars” says Bonhams Urban Art specialist Alan Montgomery. “This sale gives a great cross section of the history of the movement, and we expect extensive international interest in many of the lots, as awareness of Urban Art continues to develop on a global scale.”

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