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Laughing all the way to the Banksy, by Daniel Silk on Nov 12, 2008 20:57:52 GMT 1, www.theage.com.au/national/laughing-all-the-way-to-the-banksy-20081112-5o1b.html?page=2
Laughing all the way to the Banksy Gabriella Coslovich November 13, 2008
SIX years ago a Melbourne woman made a purchase that was considered somewhat ludicrous by family and friends โ she paid ยฃ500 for a stencil by the enigmatic British street artist Banksy. But she is having the last laugh.
Three weeks ago, the Banksy canvas sold at auction in London for a hammer price of ยฃ90,000 ($A219,544).
The image is a modern classic โ the now famous Banksy stencil of a chimp somewhat prophetically bearing a placard that reads "Laugh now, but one day we'll be in charge". It sold three weeks ago at Bonhams' Urban Art auction, exceeding its estimated price of ยฃ60,000 to ยฃ80,000 as two phone bidders battled it out.
The previous four Banskys to go under the hammer failed to sell.
"Obviously I was overwhelmed with the estimate alone, much less the auction result. I couldn't believe it. I wish I'd bought five," said the woman, a Fairfax employee who prefers to be anonymous.
The St Kilda resident, who was in London to watch the auction, rang her mother in country Victoria with the news. "She was pretty excited. She knew I would never borrow money from her again, so she was thrilled."
The woman lived and worked in London for seven years and would regularly see Banksy's works in West London.
The chimp, which she occasionally glimpsed from a tube train, was her favourite.
"I was working at a design studio with several artists at the time and there was some hype beginning around Banksy, because he'd been doing large stencils around London and because he was anonymous," she said. "A colleague told me Banksy had a studio and was selling a few of his works on canvases, including the chimp."
She visited Banksy's studio and his manager showed her two chimp canvases left from a series of five. She bought one, but doesn't believe she has a gift for spotting sure-fire art investments.
"I think it was fluke. I am going to reinvest some of the money in some more art, but I don't ever expect to have that kind of luck again," the woman said. "His manager told me at the time that Banksy was headed for big things, but I never thought he'd become so popular.
"As much as I've loved the piece, when prices of his work started to go through the roof โ most notably after his LA exhibition โ I decided to have it valued."
The Los Angeles show, Barely Legal, was held in a warehouse two years ago. It was attended by the likes of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves, Jude Law, Christina Aguilera and even Joni Mitchell, although the mysterious Banksy did not make an appearance.
"People started saying 'Oh my God, you should get it valued'. I thought it would be worth about ยฃ20,000, wouldn't that be amazing," the woman said.
Instead, she discovered the work was so valuable she could not afford to insure it and had better sell it. She plans to pay off her credit card and buy a "really good stereo" with her windfall.
The auction record for a Banksy was set in April last year, for Space Girl and Bird, which was commissioned by the band Blur for their Think Tank album cover. It sold for ยฃ288,000 โ almost $A700,000 at today's exchange rate.
www.theage.com.au/national/laughing-all-the-way-to-the-banksy-20081112-5o1b.html?page=2Laughing all the way to the Banksy Gabriella Coslovich November 13, 2008 SIX years ago a Melbourne woman made a purchase that was considered somewhat ludicrous by family and friends โ she paid ยฃ500 for a stencil by the enigmatic British street artist Banksy. But she is having the last laugh. Three weeks ago, the Banksy canvas sold at auction in London for a hammer price of ยฃ90,000 ($A219,544). The image is a modern classic โ the now famous Banksy stencil of a chimp somewhat prophetically bearing a placard that reads "Laugh now, but one day we'll be in charge". It sold three weeks ago at Bonhams' Urban Art auction, exceeding its estimated price of ยฃ60,000 to ยฃ80,000 as two phone bidders battled it out. The previous four Banskys to go under the hammer failed to sell. "Obviously I was overwhelmed with the estimate alone, much less the auction result. I couldn't believe it. I wish I'd bought five," said the woman, a Fairfax employee who prefers to be anonymous. The St Kilda resident, who was in London to watch the auction, rang her mother in country Victoria with the news. "She was pretty excited. She knew I would never borrow money from her again, so she was thrilled." The woman lived and worked in London for seven years and would regularly see Banksy's works in West London. The chimp, which she occasionally glimpsed from a tube train, was her favourite. "I was working at a design studio with several artists at the time and there was some hype beginning around Banksy, because he'd been doing large stencils around London and because he was anonymous," she said. "A colleague told me Banksy had a studio and was selling a few of his works on canvases, including the chimp." She visited Banksy's studio and his manager showed her two chimp canvases left from a series of five. She bought one, but doesn't believe she has a gift for spotting sure-fire art investments. "I think it was fluke. I am going to reinvest some of the money in some more art, but I don't ever expect to have that kind of luck again," the woman said. "His manager told me at the time that Banksy was headed for big things, but I never thought he'd become so popular. "As much as I've loved the piece, when prices of his work started to go through the roof โ most notably after his LA exhibition โ I decided to have it valued." The Los Angeles show, Barely Legal, was held in a warehouse two years ago. It was attended by the likes of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves, Jude Law, Christina Aguilera and even Joni Mitchell, although the mysterious Banksy did not make an appearance. "People started saying 'Oh my God, you should get it valued'. I thought it would be worth about ยฃ20,000, wouldn't that be amazing," the woman said. Instead, she discovered the work was so valuable she could not afford to insure it and had better sell it. She plans to pay off her credit card and buy a "really good stereo" with her windfall. The auction record for a Banksy was set in April last year, for Space Girl and Bird, which was commissioned by the band Blur for their Think Tank album cover. It sold for ยฃ288,000 โ almost $A700,000 at today's exchange rate.
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Laughing all the way to the Banksy, by Daniel Silk on Nov 12, 2008 20:58:37 GMT 1, How many times has this title been used? "Laughing all the way to the Banksy" ;D ;D ;D
How many times has this title been used? "Laughing all the way to the Banksy" ;D ;D ;D
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