One can never put a price on an authentic Banksy canvas art form. Yet it seems that an increasing number of online auction sites are capitalising on this opportunity to make huge sales online. The main reason for this is due to the increasing vandalism of his works.
Destroying partially and fully
Banksy canvas art has always been categorised within the Graffiti Art segment. However, this is a tag put forth by persons who dislike his work. These could be anyone from his peers, who do not like the media attention showered on Banksy’s works or anyone from society, who dislikes the messages in his paintings. Many times, a Banksy canvas art piece has been partially destroyed with roller paint. At other times, the entire piece has been chipped off or damaged completely. Thus, in such cases, the work is irretrievably damaged. No rectification work can revive this painting. Given the fact that an increasing number of such paintings are being destroyed these days, Banksy canvas art is becoming more of a rarity.
A rare piece
In recent times, unscrupulous individuals have destroyed many pieces of Banksy canvas art. Often, the painting is destroyed within a few days of the work painted. This has resulted in many opportunistic people who post pictures of his works online on popular auction sites just to get money from the sale. Since Banksy canvas art is becoming such a rarity, it is natural that admirers of his artwork are lapping up any last pieces of a destroyed work. There have been many times, when the price of a destroyed Banksy painting was close to 150000 to 200000 pounds! Celebrities of the likes of Christina Aguilera have purchased several of his paintings. It is almost as though having a Banksy canvas art painting in your home is like a status symbol.
Pieces destroyed
In recent times, some of the prominent Banksy canvas art paintings destroyed include the ‘little diver’, ‘chalk farm maid’ and the ‘mild mild west’ painting. These three paintings have received some of the highest amounts of praise from people across the world. In the case of ‘little diver,’ the painting was destroyed when the protective acrylic glass was damaged. The painting was estimated to be over 400000 pounds in worth, The Banksy canvas art painting called ‘chalk farm maid’ was destroyed using whitewash. People speculate that rival graffiti artists destroyed his work. In fact, the destroyed piece even had a message written in red, which read ‘all the best – vida’. The ‘mild mild west’ painting was destroyed because of splattering red paint all over the work.
Sad but true
It is a fact that individuals are destroying many a Banksy canvas art consistently across London. However, what is sad is that these paintings are not just graffiti. These represent society with a powerful message hidden in them. What is sadder is the fact that instead of replacing the painting with another beautiful image, all that is left is a coat of red paint or whitewash. This is what has appalled the people of London tremendously.
By: Luke Wildman
