Was it too soon? Hard on the heels of strong sales for Banksy’s work in London at Phillips and a reported $575,000 sale of Kissing Coppers from 2004 that had been removed from a pub wall and sold by Banksy market maker Stephen Keszler, two works from the street artist’s recent “residency” in New York went unsold at auction:
Bandaged Heart, a spray-painted image of a heart-shaped balloon covered in plasters, had an estimate of $400,000-$600,000. Crazy Horse Car Door, with an estimate of $200,000-$300,000, depicted a Herculean figure amidst running horses on the rear door of a car.
Kezsler, owner of Keslzer Gallery in Manhattan and Southampton, New York, paid for the 8ft x 11ft Bandaged Heart to be removed from the side of the warehouse in Brooklyn and for the subsequent hole to be sealed up. Throughout Better Out Than In, Banksy’s works were defaced and removed.
Banksy Kissing Coppers, taken from Brighton wall, sells for £345,000 (Telegraph)
