A rare Banksy artwork paying homage to Jean-Michel Basquiat is going up for auction for the first time.
Banksy painted “Banksquiat” last year, highlighting the commodification of Basquiat’s work in recent years. A rare screen print is expected to sell for £55,000 with east London auction house Tate Ward.
Banksquiat is one of many Banksy works up for sale in this auction, alongside pieces by Andy Warhol, Tracey Emin, Roy Lichtenstein, Yayoi Kusama and Francis Bacon.
Despite lockdown, a Banksy triptych entitled Mediterranean Sea View 2017, made up of 19th century-style Romantic seascapes scattered with abandoned life jackets and buoys, sold for £2.2 million at a Sotheby’s charity auction last month – nearly double the original estimate.
Banksy released a video last month showing coronavirus-inspired images of rats being spray-painted onto a Circle line tube train, however it was “accidentally” removed.
Basquiat is best known for his groundbreaking graffiti art, rising to fame in New York in the 1980s. The crowns depicted in Bansky’s tribute are a recurring motif throughout his work.
The online auction is open until August 25 at artsy.net
