Urban Art - Insanity Takes Hold

(all photos Bonhams)

Originating from the streets of Bristol, Brighton and London, growing up via galleries in the East End (TLSG and BRP well represented tonight), the street print and canvas fetish they call urban art arrived in the plush west end auction rooms of Bonhams tonight .

Standing room only as Banksy stole the show, with new records for signed and unsigned screenprints, and a high score of £190,000 plus about £50,350 in premium and taxes was reached for the multiple Laugh Now monkeys on painted board. Other Banksy highlights included £82,000 for the pink punk canvas, rather a lot for a picture which looks like it might belong in your daughter’s bedroom and the jaw dropping £80,000, that’s over £100k with add ons, for the signed editioned print, read it again..editioned, Kate Moss (30/50) which undoubtedly brought a smile to one seller’s face.

Note all prices here are hammer prices, add a further 26-28% for buyers premium, VAT and artists fees, which raises the interesting question of how will Banksy get his since you have to provide name and address to collect!

Christ With Shopping Bags (13/82) topped the prices for other signed prints at £17,000 whilst signed HMV (19/150) and Golf Sale (27/750) both realised £11,000 and signed I Fought The Law brought in £10,000. The last three make the £11,000 paid for an un-signed Bomb Middle England (288/500) look like in-explicable lunacy. The only rat at the show other than me, an un-signed Gansta Rat (94/350) went for £6,500.


Nick Walker’s burgeoning recognition, his soaring talent showcased superbly in LA at the moment was rewarded by a Moona Lisa canvas stretching to a cheeky £45,000. The beautiful London Morning After AP 12/12 with its lush blue sky went for £4,500 and probably drew the largest number of frantically waved paddles.

Two very dark but classy Guy Denning oil on canvases priced erratically with the 50x70 Fear and Loss knocking down for £8,000 compared to the comparative bargain of £2,000 for the 50x50 We Saw This.

Antony Micallef flippers failed to catch fire with the Peacekeeper Uzi loving quartet ranging from £1,700 to £2,200. That’ll teach ya.

Adam Neate’s The Apprentice went for a tasty £36,000 making the smaller Neates on cardboard look a comparative steal at between £5,500 and £8,500.

Catalogues sold out so expect those to flip on eBay at a ridiculous premium any minute now.

The auction had more buzz than a hive on acid and undoubtedly suggests that apparently faltering prices are due to kick on again. If that’s what you want. Frankly the mood did border on the insane, though the buyer of the top priced piece has been popping up at all the street art openings for some time so wasn't bidding in ignorance. Given the awesome/in-explicable prices achieved for the somewhat patchy to mediocre selection auctioned tonight I would be surprised if cashing in on the street art bubble isn’t attempted again fairly soon.

Bonhams biggun

After lunch, to Bonhams in the charabanc to view some arty items previewing for the so-called first ever Urban Art auction. No Sol or San Mig. so had to endure the daubings sober.

The star piece imo is the ultra pink Sid/spikey punk canvas by Banksy. Most spectacular is the multiple Laugh Now from that bar in Brighton, shame more care wasn't taken in removing it. The Guy Dennings pair look gorgeous.

It is worth popping along to the preview given the number of works you may not have seen in the flesh before.

Bonhams have used the same lighting as BRP at their recent show which makes the dullest screen print look like it has had the lightbox treatment.

I've been told that bloggies like a good moan, so: it's hard to shake off the impression that there are too many large edition prints, some (D*Face Lenticular, called "Dizzie Rascals" by Bonhams but I don't recall it having that name on release) only released 2 months ago. Also it's a bit Keith Haring heavy. Quite why the seller needs to include an "Authorised Graffiti Area" sticker with Happy Chopper defeats me, Gareth Williams, Bonham's annointed Senior Urban Art specialist says it "came with the print at the show", well blow me, at most shows one can rely on necking a bit of bubbly, so why not a free bottle of champers with all the other items. And the catalogue is a bit pricey, dammit.

Provenance on some items must be a bit iffy. Asking the staff about the Paris CD, they reckoned anyone cloning Banksy would be doing it for more expensive items. I reckon anyone of that bent with half a brain went out and bought a few legit Paris CDs that week (to obtain receipts) and has been churning CDs out since, cos there is no possible provenance on that (can "Banksy's people" distinguish a CD burner/photocopier copy from the original?).