The mystery art piece created by Banksy sold according to Sotheby's auction house for a new record for the self-destructing British street artist on Thursday.
Love is placed in the Bin purchased in 2018 by Sotheby's London for about $1.4 million in a viral promotion stunt. The bottom half of the canvas of Girl With Balloon, arguably Banksy s best written work, began to shred as soon as the gavel hit, sealing the original sale.
Its estimated selling price was between 4 million to 6 million — or $5.54 million — $8.31 million in September.
The partially shredded piece was placed on Wednesday for auction where it sold for 18,582, 000 or more than $25.4 million, the auction house announced. The sale broke Banksy'own record from March when its picture of a boy playing with a toy nurse as a superhero was sold for more than $20m.
Banksy, the street artist whose true identity remain hidden in secrecy, posted a video to Instagram that said they put a shredder inside the frame years ago with a caption that read: The urge to destroy is also a creative urge. The quote was actually attributed to Russian artist Mikhail Bakunin, but was often said by Banksy, a 19th century Russian who was a leading theorist of anarchism.