Kind of gross to see a stolen street piece at auction. I wonder if they will disclose that invader will not authenticate. Any buyer who spends money on this instead of an alias is a fool....that said I also worry that if these bring in some cash it will encourage people to go after some of my favorites here in NYC.

I'm curious if these were obtained from private property? If anyone is aware of the locations from which they were taken, and as to whether or not they were public/private property may help answer their origin.

this auction house has been trying to sell that “long” Invader piece for years....

Makes me understand how releases are sold out in a second. So much greed.

The basquiat drawing "the angel" has been sold few month ago at 15k€ ah ah 40-60k now

Admittedly these are fantastic. Who wouldn't like an original street piece from Invader in their home? But once they are peeled of the walls the authenticy is gone. I wouldn't buy on the the secondary market especially when the COA is "current owner says it's legit". Just look at the Banksy Bomb Hugger Girl cardboards, it's flooded with fake versions.

I confirm, I was in Paris this week end and I was able to flash them so very expensive bunch of tiles with no proof of authenticity

Interesting! I know for a fact that that banksy sign is not genuine.. feel bad for anyone who purchases that!

the banksy site photo is photoshopped. If you look at the wall it is on it is the same exact piece of wall as the anti climb rats were on. The image nolonger exists on the banksy website, but the anti climb one does.

wow good eye jig5aw

If they don't care about the authenticity of the artworks they're selling they'll lose a lot of potential bidders/collectors, so I think they have no other choice but to care!

Nice detective work, jig5aw.


For comparison with the light and shadows on the Diverted Traffic sign above, here's the photoshopped fakery from the Julien's Auctions listing. The angle and perspective of the sign on the wall are also slightly off:





And here's the source page used for the deceit, taken from Banksy's website (2006). The main and thumbnail Anti-Climb Paint photos were replaced by the fabricated Diverted Traffic photo:





With the Anti-Climb Paint image, see as well the rough texture of the wall by the top rat's tail. Compare this to the smoothness of that part of the wall in the Diverted Traffic photoshop:





In addition, Diverted Traffic signs are temporary signage. One therefore never sees them drilled into a wall. They're put in the street for just a few days or weeks at a time, usually when roadworks are taking place:





Of separate interest in the auction description is the stated provenance for the fake — Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art:





I've previously mentioned Julien's Auctions — in 2014 here, and in 2015 here. When it comes to dodginess, they have precedent.

After all these years, I don't believe they're clueless about provenance or authenticity. Given they'll be aware of Pest Control and the large number of credible counterfeit Banksys on the market, their case seems instead to be one of recklessness and dishonesty. Priority is given to profit, rather than to their fiduciary duty to buyers.

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If any Los Angeles-based forum member is planning to attend a viewing day, have a chat with one of the representatives. I'd be interested to hear about the due diligence procedures followed by Julien's Auctions.

With their clients likely to be bidding five-figure sums, what evidence convinced the auction house this particular street sign was painted by Banksy? In the absence of a certificate of authenticity from Pest Control, how do they know the work isn't fake?

Please then report back.

This is a fantastic thread. Kudos. I'm sure there are vast numbers of similar lots that would fall flat under the same scrutiny.

One issue with street pieces is that the sale becomes the provenance. Something sold through a good house creates its own validity...

Let’s look outside the phone booth for a minute..... Banksy could have easily taken the unscrewed sign back to his shop, do it up, head out and install it with two screws to save time. That’s what I would have done to maximize my time out that night.....

Or.... created his own replica sign as he did with the tener, throw a rat & signature on it and boom done

You got me on the photoshop though, definitely the same light, good eye jig5aw