Thursday

Banksy's Chimp Art for £228,000

Bloomberg reports that Banksy's picture of chimpanzees carrying sandwich boards sold for £228,000 in London as Bonhams held its first auction of "Urban Art." The price, including fees, beat the estimate of £150,000-£200,000 for the 6 meter wide art mural that had once hung in a nightclub in Brighton. The sale coincides with a week of contemporary and impressionist art auctions in London, the art market's first test this year amid investment losses. Bonhams said that a crowd of more than 500 people crammed into its Bond Street art saleroom to see the 74-lot auction raise about a million pounds with fees, compared with a lower estimate of around £550,000 pounds. Only one lot failed to sell. Banksy, a Bristol-born anonymous graffiti artist, spray- painted the stenciled "Laugh Now" in 2002. The paint-on-wood picture shows a row of chimpanzees carrying sandwich boards prophesying, "Laugh now, but one day we'll be in charge." The work, one of 22 Banksys on offer, was bought by a private U.K. art buyer in the room. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art