Banksy Auction Sets Record

Even though Angelina Jolie paid nearly $400,000 for a few pieces from the graffiti artist Banksy last month in Los Angeles, his works have never reached a price that high at conventional auctions. But the prices are creeping up as his works gain a wider audience. At a Sotheby's auction in London, a set of six pictures of Kate Moss, done in the style of Andy Warhol, sold for about $94,000 (£50,400) and a sketch of the Mona Lisa, "sprayed green and with paint dripping from her eyes," went for almost £109,000 (£57,600). The prices were much more than double their estimates, setting new records at auction for the artist's work.