Banksy painting of chimps in British Parliament sells for record $12M
Pandemonium befitting the British Parliament erupted at Sotheby’s in London when a Banksy painting depicting primates sitting in a Commons chamber fetched more than $12 million, according to reports.
After furious bidding Thursday that lasted about 13 minutes, the 2009 “Devolved Parliament” by the elusive, anonymous artist — in which chimpanzees replace politicians — easily surpassed its estimated price tag of $1.8 million to $2.4 million.
“Record price for a Banksy painting set at auction tonight. Shame I didn’t still own it,” Banksy wrote on his Instagram feed along with a post quoting art critic Robert Hughes.
“… The price of a work of art is now part of its function, its new job is to sit on the wall and get more expensive. Instead of being the common property of humankind the way a book is, art becomes the particular property of someone who can afford it,” the post quoted Hughes as saying.
Before the blockbuster sale, the auction record for a Banksy work was $1,870,000 for “Keep it Spotless,” which sold at Sotheby’s in New York in 2008, according to Reuters.
The 13-foot-long “Devolved Parliament” is the stencil-slinging graffiti artist’s largest known canvas, according to Sotheby’s.
Commentators have drawn comparisons of the depicted monkey business to current-day British politics — namely the increasingly volatile exchanges in the House of Commons over the UK’s pending departure from the European Union, or Brexit, on Oct. 31.
“Inevitably what we have been seeing in the Houses of Parliament over the last few months and weeks has become a daily soap opera, not just in the UK … but also across the rest of Europe and indeed the world,” Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s European head of contemporary art, told AFP before the sale.
“What he’s pointing to here is the regression of the oldest parliamentary democracy in the world into tribalistic animalistic behaviour, the sort that we’ve seen broadcasted on our televisions,” Branczik said.
“The real genius of Banksy is his ability to reduce this incredibly complex debate into one single simple image, which importantly is very readily shared in this age of social media and a very image-consuming population.”
The oil painting’s sale comes after the controversial five-week suspension of Parliament by Prime Minister Boris Johnson was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court.
Parliament was due to return on Oct. 14 but instead reconvened on Sept. 25 after Britain’s highest court quashed the suspension.
The sale also came a year after another Banksy canvas, “Girl with Balloon,” shredded itself in front of a shocked crowd right after it was sold at another Sotheby’s auction.