Banksy Print Sells For $600,600

26 March

A print of an original art work by British street artist known only as Banksy has sold at an art auction in Auckland tonight (Tuesday) but a piece of art by well known New Zealand modern artist Brent Wong was passed in when it failed to reach its reserve price.

Banksy’s Girl With Balloon sold for $600,600 which included buyer’s premium and GST at an auction of Important and Rare Art at the International Art Centre in Parnell. Nearly $3 million in art was sold.

Banksy has never been publicly identified but his works are globally sought after and almost always reflect his commitment to social injustices. In Girl With Balloon some observers believe she has lost the balloon and others that she is about to catch it.

Director of the International Art Centre and auctioneer, said it was one of Banksy’s most iconic and popular images and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. It shows a young girl in black and white stretching out for a red, heart-shaped balloon which is just out of her reach.

Establishment, by Otaki born modern artist Brent Wong, was described at the sale as an ‘absolute masterpiece’ but was passed in when it failed to reach its reserve price.

The sale also included Memories, a 1911 signed and dated oil painting of a Maori chieftainess by Charles Frederick Goldie, the artist considered by some critics to be the greatest painter in New Zealand art history.

Memories attracted more than 30 bids before it sold for $553,700 which also included a buyer’s premium and GST. Goldie died in 1947 aged 76 and is considered to be the world’s finest artist of Maori elders and Maori scenes.

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