A much talked-about Banksy artwork which was up for sale this afternoon at a Newcastle auction house remains unsold after bids failed to hit the mark.
It had been all eyes on helicopter painting Holywell Row Happy Choppers, by the famous mystery street artist, which was the star lot of Wednesday's spring sale at Anderson & Garland with huge interest expected from Banksy fans and art lovers worldwide. It had been estimated to fetch £500,000-£700,000 but bids fell short on the day, with the sale stopped when they reached no further than £420,000.
"That sadly means that is unsold," director Fred Wyrley-Birch told the audience, adding that after-sale opportunities will be still available for buyers interested in making an offer. The 2006 painting, which had been available to view at the city saleroom over three days ahead of the auction, went under the hammer soon after 12.15pm, creating a buzz around the saleroom and the action also available to view live online.
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The auction came on the same day that a new tree mural by Banksy - just revealed in London's Finsbury Park this week - was defaced with white paint. Happy Choppers itself had suffered a worse fate in its time.
Part of a series by Banksy featuring Apocalypse Now-type helicopters, it has a story attached to it which seemed set to add another level of interest for potential buyers. It had been 'rediscovered' on the wall of a London office building, whose original owner - fearing the Banksy pop-up would cause security problems - had concealed the work by covering it by layers of black paint.
Once found by the property's new owner, there followed a painstaking process to remove and restore the painting, with the result being "a major masterpiece" said Mr Wyrley-Birch. Happy Choppers was joined in the auction by more of the street artist's originals, with other lots including placards from a 2003 anti-war demonstration in London and hand-painted birthday cards which achieved far better results.
Among them a single Banksy birthday card with a £15,000-£25,000 estimate sold for £23,000 while two others each made £11,000 exceeding their £8,000-£10,000 estimates. A design to stand outside a shop went for £17,000 - £2,000 more than its top estimate - and two anti-war placards, which were expected to go for £3,000-£5,000, made £6,500 and £6,200 respectively.
Afterwards, Mr Wyrely-Birch revealed the sale of the 10 other Banksy works had totalled £130,000, including fees, and that the main piece could now find a private buyer. He said of the auction: “We are delighted to have been able to offer the Holywell Row Choppers for sale today at Anderson & Garland, attracting attention from bidders around the world and generating a fantastic buzz in the saleroom.
"Unfortunately, the auction reserve wasn’t achieved and the piece failed to sell. Although this is not the result we’d hoped for, we are proud to have been able to offer it to the market and will continue to celebrate the success of the other 10 Banksy works we were able to sell today to various UK and overseas buyers.
"Although Holywell Row Happy Choppers failed to sell, we are in discussions with several interested parties regarding a private sale.”
This is not the first time that Anderson & Garland has dealt with a major Banksy work. In 2022 it sold his painting The Merrivale Stable which attracted worldwide interest and sold for a record-breaking £1m within just two minutes.
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