Detroit Mural Credited To Banksy Sells For $137,500
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (WWJ/AP) - An piece of art that gallery officials say was created by elusive artist Banksy at a former Detroit auto plant has sold at auction for $137,500.
The artwork was sold Wednesday at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, California. An 8-foot, 1,500-pound section of cinderblock wall featuring the artwork was excavated from the Packard Plant site in 2010 by the nonprofit 555 gallery in Detroit.
The mural features child holding a bucket of red paint and a brush next to a message that says: "I remember when all this was trees."
The 555 gallery will get $110,000 from the sale, and officials plan to use it to renovate the gallery's new permanent home.
Banksy is a British street artist known for anonymously leaving his work in public areas.
According to Julien's Auctions, Banksy created the Detroit work in 2010 just prior to the premiere of the documentary that would bring him to stardom, "Exit through the Gift Shop." Fingerprints can clearly be seen on the red paint and are the only known examples of what may finally lead to the uncovering of the elusive artist's identity
Officials had expected the mural to go for anywhere between $400,000 and $1 million.
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