An art collector claims the owner of the Totterdown Banksy piece tried to sell it to him – but he refused for moral reasons.
John Brandler, the man behind Brandler Galleries in Essex, owns several works by the anonymous Bristolian artist, including one in Nottingham which he bought this week.
He told Bristol Live today’s removal of the Nottingham artwork was unrelated to yesterday’s mysterious boarding up of the Aachoo piece on Vale Street, Totterdown – but he says he did turn down the chance to buy Aachoo around the start of the year.
Mr Brandler, who declined because he felt the work “belonged” in Bristol, has also raised concerns over it being kept behind a perspex screen.
He said: “The moisture goes up into the brickwork and then it’s a perfect environment for mould. It will destroy the painting.”
Aachoo appeared on the side of a semi-detached house on Vale Street in December, while the home was in the process of being sold.
Depicting a woman in a headscarf sneezing and her dentures flying into the air, it has drawn regular visitors to the famously steep street, but yesterday (February 16) it was blocked by scaffolding board.
Beyond the board, there is what one local resident described as a “shed” in place, including a perspex sheet in front of the piece. This was reportedly installed on January 23.
Mr Brandler said: “The perspex and the wooden board together stop the air moving around it.
“If I was standing on the street, I'd say take everything off and then put the board back on, but give a gap. Let the wall breathe, because if it doesn't, it will go mouldy and you will end up with a pile of paint dust.
“If you put perspex right on the painting and leave it, in two to four years’ time you will have no Banksy.
“Even the Nottingham piece is going to need some level of restoration after just a few months, because the same thing was done there.
“A Banksy which was in Amsterdam, Heart Boy, is costing me tens of thousands of pounds to have the damage undone, for the same reason.”
Mr Brandler, who owns Banksy’s famous Port Talbot work Season’s Greetings, he was offered Aachoo around the start of the year.
The previous homeowner reportedly moved out a few weeks ago. It is not known whether they or the house’s buyer now owns the painting.
Mr Brandler said: “I was approached and I was tempted visually, but I felt morally it belonged in Bristol.
“It's one that is very, very site-specific. Part of it is that Banksy is a Bristolian. I feel there is a distinction because it is so much a part of Bristol.
“I advised the owner to give the piece to Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, or the Mayor of Bristol. I got the feeling it might be a possibility they would do that.
"They’ve got the conundrum of what to do. It’s disrupting their lives and it’s all got very messy.”
Mr Brandler says a price range was discussed, but declined to reveal further details.
Bristol City Council says it has not had contact from Aachoo's owner.
The home's current owner has been approached for comment.
