Banksy Sells Art Worth $32K ... for $60 Each

Pieces were authentic, but looked fake
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 14, 2013 9:19 AM CDT
Banksy Hawks Works at NYC Stall ... for $60 Each
Graffiti by the secretive British artist Banksy, featuring a dog and a fire plug, draws attention on 24th Street, near Sixth Avenue in New York, on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013.   (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Banksy yesterday sold some of his works at a Central Park stand—pieces worth about $32,000 each. The secretive street artist's selling price, however, was decidedly lower: $60 per work. The collection, which was being sold by an elderly man, looked like it was full of fakes, the BBC notes; in fact, the works were signed by the artist, who posted about it on his website today. "Yesterday I set up a stall in the park selling 100% authentic original signed Banksy canvases. For $60 each," the artist noted on the site for his New York residency, called Better Out Than In.

The stall took in just $420 all day, and some customers paid even less than $60; in a video, the BBC notes, one negotiates to get 50% off. But don't rush over for a deal: "The stall will not be there again today," the artist posted, adding, "I know street art can feel increasingly like the marketing wing of an art career, so I wanted to make some art without the price tag attached. There is no gallery show or book or film. It's pointless. Which hopefully means something." Each day this month, Banksy plans to create a piece of "elaborate graffiti, large scale street sculpture, video installation, or substandard performance art." (More Banksy stories.)

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