The target price for ‘Bird with Grenade’ is ‘only’ 150,000 to 200,000 euros. The work will be auctioned in Zwolle by auction house Hessink. The artist is said to have sprayed it on a wall in Los Angeles in 2002. Because it was intended for the public space, “he damn it to give a certificate of authenticity,” says auctioneer Richard Hessink in de Telegraaf.
8.4 million euros
Banksy works usually make much more money, such as the ‘Show me the Monet’ which was auctioned for € 8.4 million by Sotheby’s last month. Major international auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s only auction Banksy’s work with a certificate of authenticity, boosting the value.
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‘Bird with Grenade’ will be auctioned in Zwolle on behalf of Jamie Wood, a British art collector and son of Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood. He bought it in 2007 after the work was removed from the wall of a library in Los Angeles.
Pest Control
Certificates of authenticity are issued by the organization Pest Control on behalf of Banksy, who wishes to remain anonymous. Precisely to prevent people from running off with his public works, the artist sticks to the policy.
This to the frustration of Hessink. “We can trace this ‘bird with grenade’ all the way back and have official reports from its former printmaker that it is a real Banksy,” he says. “Anyone who buys it now will also receive that certificate of authenticity. And then it could suddenly be worth millions.”
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