Caricature titled “Devolved Parliament” sold for £9.9 million at a London auction.
The 2009 artwork depicting chimpanzees at the House of Commons is the artist’s largest work at 2.5 meters in height and 4.2 meters in width. The auction was just 13 minutes long while the price increased almost fivefold.
#AuctionUpdate Monkey Business 🐒🍌: #Banksy’s monumental painting of the House of Commons overrun with parliamentary primates sells to applause at £9,879,500 – 9 times its previous record – after a 13 minute bidding battle. pic.twitter.com/5LPR5BlgCH
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) October 3, 2019
Both the seller and the buyer chose to remain anonymous. It is only known that the seller was the first-hand owner having purchased the painting back in 2011 from Banksy himself without any intermediary fairs or auctions. The buyer was represented by the head of Sotheby’s sales department, Emma Baker.
The previous record was set in 2008 at Sotheby’s New York premises. ‘Keep It Spotless’, a painting where a maid sweeps rubbish under Damien Hirst’s ‘Spots’, was sold for £1.04 million. Hirst’s original is exhibited in a room at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, a city that hides many secrets.
Written by Polina Vorobyova
Translated by Tony Savosin
