Banksy paintings that belonged to Robbie Williams are up for auction in London

AFP

Two works by British urban artist Banksy, belonging to British pop singer Robbie Williams, 48, were sold for millions of dollars each at an auction at Sotheby’s, celebrated this Wednesday (2), in London.

“Vandalised Oil (Choppers)”, oil that shows military helicopters invading a pleasant countryside, fetched almost 4.4 million pounds (R$ 30 million). The price exceeded estimates, which ranged from 2.5 to 3.5 million pounds (from R$17 million to R$24 million).

For Sotheby’s, the painting illustrates the “anti-war message” of Banksy, an artist from Bristol, western England, whose true identity remains a mystery.

Although the painting is reminiscent of the American film “Apocalypse Now” (1979), about the war in Vietnam, the screen seems to evoke the war in Iraq, explained the auction house, noting that Banksy was committed against that war and would have distributed posters during protests. against the conflict in London in 2003.

In the same auction, a version of “Girl with Balloon” was sold for 2.8 million pounds (R$ 14.3 million). This work was also owned by Robbie Williams, who bought it directly from the artist in 2006. Its price was estimated at between 2 and 3 million pounds (R$ 10 million to R$ 15.3 million).

The image of a girl releasing a heart-shaped balloon appeared on the walls of London from 2002 and was later reproduced in several versions by the artist, including in paintings and engravings.

One such version, which partially self-destructed in a sale, fetched nearly 18.6 million pounds in October 2021 at auction in London, a record for a Banksy painting.

In March 2021, another of his works, “Game Changer”, a painting in honor of health workers during the coronavirus pandemic, was sold for 16.75 million pounds (R$ 85.5 million), which went to the British health service.