Banksy”™s Nazi-Doctored Painting Raises $615,000 Online
by Katya Kazakina
Bloomberg
November 1, 2013
A whimsical painting by elusive British artist Banksy sold for $615,000 at on online auction yesterday.
Housing Works, which provides support for homeless patients living with HIV/AIDS, said it received the painting around 11 a.m. Tuesday, when a woman walked into its thrift shop near Gramercy Park to drop off what was then an anonymous donation.
“She said the painting is worth a lot of money and that someone will contact us about it,” said Rebecca Edmondson, director of public relations at Housing Works.
The organization subsequently received a call from the artist”™s team, authenticating the work and saying that Banksy would like the painting to be auctioned.
The foundation received a total of 138 bids, according to the Housing Works website.
Titled “The Banality of the Banality of Evil,” the work depicts a man in Nazi uniform contemplating a lake and snowy mountains from a wooden bench. The title echoes Hannah Arendt”™s book about the trial of Adolf Eichmann.
Human Intervention
The oil painting, minus the human figure, was purchased for $50 two months ago from the same shop. Banksy”™s contribution: the Nazi and the signature. The work appears on Banksy”™s website.
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