Banksy Breaks the Bank

The old adage, 'If you build it, they will come' should be expanded.

A Banksy exterior.

“If you refuse to show your face in public, vandalize the streets at night, then auction off said streets and walls, they will pay. They'll pay a lot.” Previously, the record sale for an original Banksy was $660,000, but that changed last week when one of his more recognizable prints—thank you Urban Outfitters—depicting a chambermaid lifting up a Damien Hirst painting to reveal a brick wall sold for a record $1.87 million at the (PRODUCT)RED Sotheby's auction in New York City. And speaking of walls, last month, a piece of Notting Hill’s finest went to one lucky eBay bidder for roughly $400,000, defaced with a mural of a Victorian artist. The ever-aloof Banksy (he refuses to give interviews, and no one knows how old he is) hired a SoHo-based dealer and holds exhibitions in L.A. He hopes to sell more of his wares later this month; on February 28th Sotheby’s in London will be auctioning off five of Banksy’s murals, lest you happen to have an extra hundred thousand pounds lying around. —Erin Hicks