banksygraffiti

The Hackney Council of Stoke Newington, England just made a big mistake: it painted over a mural featuring a spoof image of the Royal Family by graffiti artist Banksy. The owner of the building on which the mural was painted, Sofie Attrill, agreed to have the mural painted so it could be used on the cover of the band Blur's 2003 single Crazy Beat. And for six years, it sat there, attracting plenty of attention.

When she saw the Banksy artwork partially covered in black paint, however, Attrill was moved to tears – a feeling ostensibly made worse by the fact that the workers were smiling as they covered the (once) priceless creation. Working with a crowd that had gathered, Attrill was able to get the painters to stop before they covered the mural completely.

The Hackney Council claimed to have had permission because it sent letters to Attrill and received no reply. Then, it sent an enforcement notice and again heard nothing. Unfortunately, they sent them to an address she used 25 years ago.

At first, the Hackney Council offered no apology. When it realized its error, though, it began to talk to Attrill about ways to resolve the situation.

[Photo of the Stoke Newington mural unavailable]

When times are tough, you don't spend when you don't have to. There's sufficient graffiti in London to keep art collectors entertained, which is causing them to shy away from works by Banksy. Larger auction houses have cut down on the Banksy works they are carrying, and some of the regional auction houses are canceling their urban art specialist sales.

It's hard to tell if Banksy is disappointed. The artist, who was born in Bristol (west England) keeps his (her?) identity a secret. So, if you see some weirdo crying in a corner over the next few weeks at a pub in Bristol (or, maybe, London), ask if it's Banksy. It could be cooler than finding Waldo.

Prices for pieces by Banksy have plunged this year, with failure rates on the rise. Auction houses are now sufficiently nervous to hedge their bets, carrying little (or no) inventory by the artist and canceling auctions that may not deliver.

In general, contemporary art auction selling points are down 30 percent to 50 percent – about as much as your 401(k). The top houses – Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams and Phillips de Pury – didn't carrying any of Banksy's work in their June or early July auctions. This year, 76 Banksy paintings and prints have come under the gavel, with 30 of them (almost half) not selling. The highest price reached was $230,500 at a New York Sotheby's event. Last year, the top price for a Banksy piece was $1.9 million at Sotheby's RED charity auction in February.