During a sale at the auction this Tuesday evening, the Sotheby’s house sold a painting of the most famous street artist in the world, entitled Crude Oil.
A rare painting of Star Banksy Star Banksy, inspired by a famous Canvas of the Scottish painter Jack Vettriano, just deceased, was sold on Tuesday for almost 4.3 million pounds (more than 5 million euros). Baptized «Crude Oil (Vetrian)» and sometimes nicknamed «Toxic beach»the table was sold at Sotheby’s in the British capital. It was presented for the first time during the Banksy’s major exhibition in 2005.
Randomly of the calendar, the sale was the day after the announcement of the death of the painter Jack Vettriano, of which Banksy was inspired. The body of this self -taught painter, who died at age 73, was found on Saturday in his apartment in Nice, in the south of France. Very popular with the public, he was however shunned by the profession.
Mainly known for his impactful stencils which he sows in the streets of the whole world (and which cause public hysteria each time), Banksy, is also the author of paintings and sculptures. The latter have always remained in the shadow of his stencils, some of which have become iconic.
Paint versus stencils
The works of the artist, whose real identity remains mysterious, have reported tens of millions of dollars, making him one of the best known British artists in the world. Not just visually captivating, Banksy’s works often wear powerful and provocative messages. Themes such as war, capitalism, social control and human rights are frequently discussed in its creations.
Hand painted, «Crude Oil» is a parody of the table «The Singing Butler» From Jack Vettriano, on which we see a couple dancing on a beach. The painting is extremely popular in the United Kingdom. The version of the native of Bristol is however less romantic, the scene of the couple being disturbed by a ocean liner. The servant is replaced by two men in protective combination loading a can with toxic content.
“Banksy used humor and irony that characterize it to produce an image that addresses major questions of the 21st century, such as the environment, pollution and capitalism”Sotheby’s said in a statement published before the sale.
If the version of the street artist was sold above her starting estimate (3 million pounds), it remains much lower than her previous graft records. In October 2021, his partially destroyed work “The ball in the ball”renamed “Love is in the trash” had gone to 18.6 million pounds (21.8 million euros).
Six me before, in March, «Game Changer»a canvas honoring caregivers, flew away for 16.75 million pounds, or 19.5 million euros. The table «Crude Oil» came from the collection of the American musician Mark Hoppus, co-founder of the Punk Group Blink-182.