25 February 2022

Banksy artwork expected to fetch up to £300,000 at Los Angeles auction

25 February 2022

A piece of artwork by Bristol-based graffiti artist Banksy is expected to sell for up to 400,000 dollars (£300,000) as it goes under the hammer in Los Angeles.

The piece by the anonymous painter, Bomb Middle England, is part of a collection of works including other “revolutionary iconoclasts” such as Shepard Fairey, Damien Hirst and David Hockney.

The auction is hosted by Julien’s Auction house and will take place in Beverly Hills, California, on March 16.

The Banksy is thought to have been created in 2003 and first featured on the wall of a Parisian art studio and boutique.

It depicts a group of elderly women playing a game of bowls on a green using bombs instead of bowling balls.

Sellers say the estimate for the piece is between 200-400,000 dollars (£150-300,000).

Other items from the enigmatic artist include Banksy’s original hand-cut paper stencil used to create his Toxic Rat aerosol paintings that appeared in London in the mid-2000s.

Banksy artwork (Julien’s Auctions/PA)

It is expected to sell for 30-50,000 dollars (£22-40,000).

A limited edition and signed 2007 screen print on paper dated 216/300 and accompanied by a signed COA from Pest Control is expected to fetch an estimated 80-100,000 dollars (£60-75,000).

Also included in the sale are pieces by fellow British artists Hirst and Hockney.

Hirst’s work, Beautiful, Struggling to Consume and Times to Overwhelm Potential Painting, signed and dated by the painter, is expected to go for between 100-200,000 dollars (£75-150,000).

A signed piece of work by British artist Damien Hirst is expected to go for between 100-200,000 dollars (£75-150,000) (Anthony Devlin/PA) (PA Archive)

A signed and limited edition print of Hockney’s Panama Hat is estimated at 30-50,000 dollars (£22-40,000).

Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions, said: “Julien’s Auctions is proud to present this outstanding collection from the art world’s major figures and visionaries who have made the world their canvas and turned street and contemporary art into a global phenomenon.

“These important pieces of the 20th and 21st century’s modern art movement have seized our collective consciousness and imagination to inspire pop culture, activism and change.”

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