Laughing to the Banksy

Banksy, the anonymous graffiti artist who has turned the art world on its head, is to have a collection sold at Sotheby's for the first time. The seven works by Banksy included in the sale are estimated to go for a total of £167,000, but the interest shown so far has led the auction house to suspect that there will be competition, particularly for a ballerina sculpture. 'It is definitely one of the favourites,' said Cheyenne Westphal of Sotheby's. 'It is incredibly fresh and translates his message into very simple visual language. There are some people who just think he is a fad, but there have been remarkably few raised eyebrows this time.' The sculpture, 'Ballerina with Action Man Parts', was influenced by the work of Edgar Degas and, by coincidence, three of the French artist's studies of ballerinas are up for sale tomorrow. Last month one of Banksy's pieces sold for £57,000 at auction, while Angelina Jolie paid £200,000 for a work sold in Los Angeles. (For full article by Venessa Thorpe in The Observer click the Headline) Irish Art