Banksy’s Show me the Monet comes up at Sotheby’s in London on October 21 with an estimate of £3-5 million. It is from the Crude Oils series where the artist remixes well known artworks. Among other works in the series are Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers portrayed wilting or dead; Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks augmented by an angry man in Union Jack boxer shorts moments after breaking the bar window with a chair, and Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe re-faced with Kate Moss. The artist is quoted saying: “If you want to survive as a graffiti writer when you go indoors, I figured your only option is to carry on painting over things that don’t belong to you there either.” According to Sotheby’s Show me the Monet may be interpreted as a comment on consumerist culture, a criticism of the commercialisation of art, a lament for the demise of the environment, or all of the above. Painted in 2005 it will highlight a livestream auction which brings together two sales of Modern and Contemporary art held in sequence in Paris and London.
UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £7.6 MILLION
