A painting by artist Banksy in honor of UK healthcare professionals set a new record for the artist, selling for £ 16.7 million ($ 23.1 million) at Christie’s in London.
“Game Changer”, which the enigmatic street artist donated to University Hospital Southampton (UHS) in May 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic, shows a child playing with a Red Cross toy nurse wearing a cape and face mask. In a nearby basket, Batman and Spider-Man figurines were forgotten.
The work sold for more than four times its estimated £ 3.5 million ($ 4.8 million) and nearly doubled Banksy’s previous record, “Parliament Returned” in 2009 oil on canvas by British politicians like chimpanzees in House of Commons, which sold for £ 9.9 million ($ 13.6 million) at Sotheby’s in 2019.
‘Game Changer’ by Banksy Credit: From Christie’s
Until now, “Game Changer” had only been seen on display at the hospital (a reproduction will now replace it). When Banksy donated the work, he included a note that said, “Thank you for everything you are doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it is just black and white.”
Christie’s described the job as capturing “the simple, universal values that surfaced during the pandemic – family, home and time spent with loved ones.” Painting is an exciting time for an artist who often shows his sarcastic appeal. In 2018, Banksy made headlines when her iconic work, “Girl With Balloon”, self-destructed shortly after being sold for $ 1.4 million at Sotheby’s (the spray-paint-on-canvas composition, which was kind of frayed in its frame, later renamed “Love is in the trash”)