Lucky Australian who picked up an authentic Banksy print for $300 at a museum shop in 2003 makes $184,000 after selling the piece at auction
- Customer picked up a Banksy print for under $300 in Sydney back in 2003
- Incredibly, the print – an original – sold for just under $200,000 on Thursday
- Identity of the artist ‘Banksy’ remains a mystery, but he is believed to live in UK
A lucky Australian has made $184,000 from the sale of a Banksy print bought for less than $300 at a museum shop almost two decades ago.
The customer picked up the piece – a screenprint on paper of the artist’s iconic Love is in the Air protest image – at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art in 2003.
On Thursday night the print was sold at auction by Smith & Singer for $184,091 to an unnamed US buyer, 7News reported.
On Thursday night the print was sold at auction by Smith & Singer for $184,091 to an unnamed US buyer
The original artwork, which has a white background, was sold at auction for US$12.9million by Sotheby’s on Tuesday
The print measures 46.7cm x 67cm, and has ‘Banksy/450/500’ in the corner, meaning it was 450 of 500 printed by the artist that year.
Print number 51 sold at a London auction for $308,000 in 2020. Banksy was in Australia during 2003, and completed artworks in Sydney and Melbourne.
The artist may have given the Love is in the Air screenprint to the museum shop during that time.
The original artwork, which has a white background, was sold at auction for US$12.9million by Sotheby’s on Tuesday.
Banksy is renowned for his controversial and thought-provoking street art which pops up around the world, and his identity remains a mystery.
His creations are often accompanied with deep political messages, including environmentalism, women’s justice and the Black Lives Matter movement.
The customer picked up the piece – a screenprint on paper of the anonymous artist’s iconic Love is in the Air protest image – at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art in 2003
Banksy’s creations (pictured some of his street art from Bristol, UK) are always thought provoking and said to contain political messages
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