LONDON -- Art prankster Banksy has struck again. A work by the elusive street artist apparently self-destructed in front of startled auction-goers on Friday – moments after it was sold for 1.04 million pounds ($1.4 million).

The spray-painted canvas "Girl With Balloon" went under the hammer at Sotheby's in London, fetching more than three times its pre-sale estimate and equaling a record price for the artist. It then ran through a shredder embedded in the frame, emerging from the bottom in strips as an alarm sounded.

Sotheby's – which had noted before the sale that the work's ornate gilded frame was "an integral element of the artwork chosen by Banksy himself" – expressed surprise at the incident.

"It appears we just got Banksy-ed," said Alex Branczik, head of contemporary European art at the auction house.

The auction house said it was "in discussion about next steps" with the buyer. Some art-market watchers have suggested the work – which shows a girl reaching toward a heart-shaped balloon – could be worth even more in its shredded state.

"We have not experienced this situation in the past where a painting spontaneously shredded, upon achieving a record for the artist," Branczik said. "We are busily figuring out what this means in an auction context."

A post on Banksy's official Instagram account showed the moment – and the shocked reaction of those in the room – with the words "Going, going, gone..."

Banksy is not the first artist to deconstruct his own work. In the years after World War II, German-born artist Gustav Metzger pioneered "auto-destructive art," creating paintings using acid that ate away the fabric beneath.

Banksy never disclosed his full identity, but he is thought to have grown up in Bristol, BBC News reports. He rose to prominence through a series of graffiti pieces across England.

His mischievous and often satirical images include two policemen kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words "Laugh now, but one day I'll be in charge."

He also has a penchant for elaborate pranks. In 2005, he hung an image of a spear-toting ancient human pushing a shopping cart in the British Museum, where it remained for several days before being discovered. The next year he smuggled a life-sized figure of a Guantanamo Bay detainee into Disneyland, and in 2015 he erected a full-scale dystopian theme park – "Dismaland" – by the British seaside.

"Girl With Balloon," which depicts a small child reaching up toward a heart-shaped red balloon, was originally stenciled on a wall in east London and has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy's best-known images.</s>Anonymous British graffiti artist Banksy has pulled off another stunt that seized the attention of the art world — this time at the expense of his own work.

On Friday, a Banksy painting titled "Girl with Red Balloon" was being auctioned at Sotheby's in London. The spray-painted and acrylic piece depicted a little girl extending her arm out for a heart-shaped balloon, floating far beyond reach.

The bidding climbed to US$1.4 million, an amount that tied the artist's own auction record from 2008. Finally, a hammer pounded to signify the end of the auction.

Right then, the painting's canvas began scrolling downward, seeming to pass through its elaborate gilded frame — and reappearing below in neat, vertical strips. Later, Sotheby's would explain that a shredder was hidden inside the frame.

The crowd began murmuring as they realized what was happening: The painting was "self-destructing" before their very eyes.

"It appears we just got Banksy-ed," Sotheby's senior director Alex Branczik said in a statement that described the incident as "the first time in auction history that a work of art automatically shredded itself after coming under the hammer." (As the saying goes: Fool me once ...)

The incident spurred questions about how Banksy had pulled it off and whether he had been at the auction in disguise. Branczik told the Art Newspaper on Friday that he was "not in on the ruse."

"We are busy figuring out what this means in an auction context," Branczik told the outlet.

"The shredding is now part of the integral art work. We have not experienced a situation where a painting has spontaneously shredded, upon achieving a record for the artist."

Sotheby's did not publicize who purchased the piece. Representatives for the auction house did not immediately respond to questions Saturday.

Banksy on Saturday posted a video to Instagram that showed footage of a shredding mechanism being built into a frame for, presumably, "Girl with Red Balloon."

"A few years ago I secretly built a shredder into a painting," he stated in the video text, "in case it was ever put up for auction ..."

The video then jumped to clips of Friday's auction at Sotheby's, indicating that Banksy — or someone who works with him — was there when it happened.

"The urge to destroy is also a creative urge," Banksy captioned the Instagram post.

Banksy has managed to keep his real identity secret from the public for decades — often spray-painting his murals under cover of night — while building a reputation for provocative street art with subversive, anti-establishment messaging.

In 2007, he painted the words "ONE NATION UNDER CCTV" on the side of a British postal service building.

Another of his murals, 2012′s "Slave Labour," showed a young boy sewing Union Jack bunting, probably a jab at the then-upcoming celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee. (The nonprofit group Art Story maintains a good list of Banksy's most notable pieces.)

The artist has famously criticized commercialism, once selling his canvasses through a Central Park pop-up shop for $60 apiece to unsuspecting customers, according to Forbes.

"Graffiti art has a hard enough life as it is, before you add hedge-fund managers wanting to chop it out and hang it over the fireplace," the New York Times quoted Banksy as saying in 2013.

"For the sake of keeping all street art where it belongs, I'd encourage people not to buy anything by anybody, unless it was created for sale in the first place."

The irony, though, is that "Girl with Red Balloon" may have increased in value after its self-destruction, shredded pieces and all. Joey Syer, the co-founder of MyArtBroker.com, told the Evening Standard that the painting could have added 50 percent to its value.

"The auction result will only propel this further, and given the media attention this stunt has received, the lucky buyer would see a great return on the [$1.4 million] they paid last night," Syer told the newspaper. "This is now part of art history in its shredded state."

This article was originally published by The Washington Post.</s>Anonymous British graffiti artist Banksy has pulled off another stunt that seized the attention of the art world – this time at the expense of his own work.

On Friday, a Banksy painting titled “Girl with Red Balloon” was being auctioned at Sotheby’s in London. The spray-painted and acrylic piece depicted a little girl extending her arm out for a heart-shaped balloon, floating far beyond reach.

The bidding climbed to an extraordinary $1.4 million, an amount that tied the artist’s own auction record from 2008. Finally, a hammer pounded to signify the end of the auction.

Right then, the painting’s canvas began moving downward, seeming to pass through its elaborate gilded frame – and reappearing below in neat, vertical strips. Later, Sotheby’s would explain that a shredder was hidden inside the frame.

The crowd began murmuring as they realized what was happening: The painting was “self-destructing” before their very eyes.

“It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” Sotheby’s senior director Alex Branczik said in a statement that described the incident as “the first time in auction history that a work of art automatically shredded itself after coming under the hammer.”

The incident spurred questions about how Banksy had pulled it off and whether he had been at the auction in disguise. Branczik told the Art Newspaper on Friday that he was “not in on the ruse.”

“We are busy figuring out what this means in an auction context,” Branczik told the outlet. “The shredding is now part of the integral art work. We have not experienced a situation where a painting has spontaneously shredded, upon achieving a record for the artist.”

Banksy later posted a video to Instagram that showed footage of a shredding mechanism being built into the frame for, presumably, “Girl with Red Balloon.”

“A few years ago I secretly built a shredder into a painting,” he stated in the video text, “in case it was ever put up for auction…”

The video then jumped to clips of Friday’s auction at Sotheby’s, indicating that Banksy – or someone who works with him – was there when it happened.

“The urge to destroy is also a creative urge,” Banksy captioned the Instagram post.</s>A work by the elusive street artist self-destructed in front of startled auction-goers on Friday, moments after being sold for 1.04 million pounds ($1.4 million). In an Instagram post Saturday, Banksy claimed the dramatic artistic payoff had been years in the making.

The spray-painted canvas “Girl With Balloon” went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London, fetching more than three times its pre-sale estimate and equaling a record price for the artist.

Then, as an alarm sounded, it ran through a shredder embedded in the frame, leaving half the canvas hanging from the bottom in strips.

A post on Banksy’s official Instagram account showed the moment — and the shocked reaction of those in the room — with the words “Going, going, gone…”

A video was later posted on the account, stating: “A few years ago I secretly built a shredder into a painting in case it was ever put up for auction.” The video showed images of a shredder being implanted into a picture frame along with footage of Friday’s auction finale.

Banksy’s spokeswoman, Jo Brooks, confirmed that the post was genuine.

Sotheby’s — which had noted before the sale that the work’s ornate gilded frame was “an integral element of the artwork chosen by Banksy himself” — appeared as shocked as anyone else.

“It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” said Alex Branczik, head of contemporary European art at the auction house.

The auction house said it was “in discussion about next steps” with the buyer, whose identity was not disclosed. Some art-market watchers say the work could be worth even more in its shredded state.

“We have not experienced this situation in the past . where a painting spontaneously shredded, upon achieving a record for the artist,” Branczik said. “We are busily figuring out what this means in an auction context.”

Geneva-based artist Pierre Koukjian, who was at the auction, said the buyer was “very lucky” to own a now-historic piece. He called Banksy’s prank “a turning point in the history of contemporary and conceptual art.”

Koukjian, who has met Banksy, said he is sure he caught a glimpse of the artist in the saleroom amid the confusion of the moment.

“What he did is really shocking, in a good way,” Koukjian said. “I think it will be historic and people will talk for a long time about it.”

Brooks would not say whether the artist had been at the auction. She said Sotheby’s had been “100 percent” unaware of the planned stunt.

Banksy is not the first artist to deconstruct his own work. In the years after World War II, German-born artist Gustav Metzger pioneered “auto-destructive art,” creating paintings using acid that ate away the fabric beneath.

Banksy, who has never disclosed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. His mischievous and often satirical images include two policemen kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words “Laugh now, but one day I’ll be in charge.”

He also has a penchant for elaborate pranks.

In 2005, he hung an image of a spear-toting ancient human pushing a shopping cart in the British Museum, where it remained for several days before being discovered. The next year he smuggled a life-sized figure of a Guantanamo Bay detainee into Disneyland, and in 2015 he erected a full-scale dystopian theme park — “Dismaland” — by the British seaside.

“Girl With Balloon,” which depicts a small child reaching up toward a heart-shaped red balloon, was originally stenciled on a wall in east London and has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy’s best-known images.

© Copyright 2018 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed</s>(CNN) — For an artist who’s known for his stunts, this could be Banksy’s most perfect art world prank.

After the gavel fell Friday at Sotheby’s auction house in London, Banksy’s Girl with Balloon was reduced to shreds — another apparent act in the disruptive career of the anonymous British graffiti artist.

The iconic image of a girl reaching out for a red, heart-shaped balloon, sold for $1.4 million. Moments later, a shredder hidden inside the “artist’s frame” started its work and the art “self-destructed,” according to a news release from Sotheby’s

Banksy summed up the stunt with this quote on his Instagram account — “Going, going, gone …” along with a picture of stunned onlookers as the shredded art emerges from the bottom of the frame.

“It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s senior director of contemporary art, said in the news release.

On Saturday, a video posted on Banksy’s Instagram account showed the secret shredder being built into the frame “a few years ago … in case it was ever put up for auction.” The artist also posted the Picasso quote – “The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.”

There’s no word on how the shredder started operating at the key moment after the auction, though it could have been activated by a remote mechanism.

The auction price of $1.4 million for the spray paint and acrylic on canvas Girl with Balloon tied the artist’s previous record set in 2008.</s>A painting by mysterious British artist Banksy shred itself into pieces at the moment it was sold for more than one million pounds at a London auction.

Onlookers gasped and laughed after the bottom half of “Girl with Balloon”, one of Banksy’s best-known works, was sucked into a shredder hidden in its frame as the hammer fell, auction house Sotheby’s said, following Friday’s incident.

The 12-year-old painting had just been sold for just over 1 million pounds ($1.37 million) – matching Banksy’s all-time record.

“It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” Alex Branczik, senior director and head of contemporary art, said in a statement on Sotheby’s website.

Banksy himself posted an Instagram picture of shocked attendees watching the painting disintegrate, with the caption: “Going, going, gone…”

Sotheby’s said this was “certainly” the first time a work of art started to shred itself after coming under the hammer.

Video footage showed two men taking the painting away shortly after the sale, bits of the image hanging down from the bottom of the frame in strips.

“Girl With Balloon,” which depicts a small child reaching up towards a heart-shaped red balloon, was originally stenciled on a wall in east London and has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy’s best-known images.

The auction house was not immediately available for comment on the whereabouts of the painting’s remains, or how its value might have changed in light of its self-destruction.

Banksy began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists.

The artist, whose real identity is unknown, is known for sharply ironic outdoor graffiti with political themes, including at Israel’s barrier at the West Bank and Disneyland where he painted a life-size figure of a Guantanamo Bay detainee.

His mischievous and often satirical images also include two policemen kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words “Laugh now, but one day I’ll be in charge.”

Banksy is not the first artist to destroy his own work. In the years after World War II, German-born artist Gustav Metzger pioneered “auto-destructive art,” creating paintings using acid that ate away the fabric beneath.</s>A Banksy painting has "self-destructed" just moments after selling for more than £1m.

Girl With Red Balloon was one of the star attractions at Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Sale on Friday evening.

Depicting a girl reaching towards a bright red heart-shaped balloon, the spray paint and acrylic on canvas is one of Banksy's best-known images.

The auction house said the painting was signed and dedicated and that the vendor had acquired it from the artist in 2006.

The winning bid of £860,000 (£1,042,000 including buyer's premium) was given by phone at around 9pm, well over the pre-auction estimate of between £200-300,000.

But just after the hammer went down, the painting was shredded, thought to be by a remotely activated mechanism within the frame.

The prized work then came out the bottom in strips.

Alex Branczik, Sotheby's senior director and head of contemporary art, Europe London, said: "It appears we just got Banksy-ed."

If a work is damaged while in the care of an auction house, a buyer would not normally be expected to go through with the purchase.

But perhaps, now known as the subject of one of the greatest pranks in the art world, Girl With Red Balloon will be worth even more in its shredded state.

Sotheby's told the Financial Times: "We have talked with the successful purchaser who was surprised by the story.

"We are in discussion about next steps."</s>For an artist that’s known for his stunts, this could be Banksy’s most perfect art world prank.

After the gavel fell Friday at Sotheby’s auction house in London, Banksy’s “Girl with Balloon” was reduced to shreds — another apparent act in the disruptive career of the anonymous British graffiti artist.

The iconic image of a girl reaching out for a red, heart-shaped balloon sold for $1.4 million, and moments later, a shredder hidden inside the “artist’s frame” started its work, according to a news release from Sotheby’s and the art “self-destructed.”

Banksy summed up the stunt with this quote on his Instagram account – “Going, going, gone…” and a posted picture showed stunned onlookers as the shredded art emerges from the bottom of the frame.

“It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s senior director of contemporary art, said in the news release.

There’s no word on how the shredder started operating at the key moment after the auction, though it could have been activated by a remote mechanism.

The auction price of $1.4 million for the spray paint and acrylic on canvas Girl with Balloon tied the artist’s previous record set in 2008.</s>Mysterious street artist Banksy is known for creating art that makes a statement on politics and culture, but it appears his latest work is a very pricey prank on the art world itself.

His spray-painted art titled "Girl With Balloon" apparently self-destructed in front of collectors during an auction at Sotheby's in London on Friday, minutes after selling for $1.4 million dollars (roughly £1.04 million).

As soon as the auctioneer slammed down the gavel on the last bid, which was estimated to be more than three times the painting's pre-sale value, an alarm went off. The art suddenly ran through a shredder embedded in the frame, which left more than half the canvas hanging from the bottom in strips.

Banksy's official Instagram account shared an image from Sotheby's auctioneers at the exact moment the art self-destructed. Reads the caption: "Going, going, gone..."

In an Instagram video posted Saturday, Banksy wrote, "A few years ago, I secretly built a shredder into a painting in case it was ever put up for auction." Then we see the art being shredded with the caption, "The urge to destroy is also a creative urge - Picasso." The video shows the painting shredding and onlookers looking shocked.

Said Alex Branczik, Sotheby's senior director, in a statement: "It appears we just got Banksy-ed."

While the auction house doesn't appear to have been in on the prank, some fans are speculating a disguised Banksy was at the auction in person to set off the shredder. Sotheby's didn't immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

Usually if artwork is damaged before leaving an auction house, the sale is canceled, but Sotheby's auctioneers now think the shredded art has become even more of a collectible.

"You could argue that the work is now more valuable," Branczik said. "It's certainly the first piece to be spontaneously shredded as an auction ends."</s>$1.4 Million Banksy Painting Destroys Itself After Being Bought At Auction

At this week’s Sotheby’s Auction House in London, world-renowned artist Banksy’s latest painting was for sale. Called “Girl with Balloon”, the painting drew interest from dozens of people who were ready to make a significant bid for it. Little did they know that within minutes the painting would be irreversibly damaged.

Just as the half-hour auction ended at an incredible $1.4 million, half the piece was shredded right in front of the entire auction house. With half of the million dollar piece hanging out the bottom of its frame in tatters, the room was overwhelmed with silence and grimacing.

The destruction of the piece was no mistake, though. Banksy had rigged the frame of the piece to destroy the painting after being sold using sharp blades to strip the prized painting into dozens of pieces.

The audience had no idea it was intentional, and seeing one of the most costly items at the auction house get ruined was almost too much to bear.

Banksy is known worldwide for his satirical works and dark humor, so it wasn’t long after the incident that people caught on to what had really happened. And it was only a few hours afterward that the madman himself posted a video detailing how he created the auto-shredder, as seen below.

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Funny enough, the painting is actually worth more now that it has caused a commotion on social media, with some estimating that it’s now worth at least $2.5 million.
At an auction in London, the painting Girl with Balloon by Banksy self-destructs through a built-in shredder hidden in the frame after selling for US$1.4 million.