When he’s not holding a microphone, Robbie Willians obviously enjoys looking at Banksy art. But now the singer has parted with three works from his private collection.
Several Banksy works owned by British pop star Robbie Williams went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London on Wednesday for several million.
A version of the “Girl with a Balloon” spray-painted on metal fetched around £2.8 million (€3.3 million), according to Sotheby’s.
Another version of the famous work was shredded by a hidden device in the frame at a 2018 auction shortly after it was sold. It was an action by the artist that significantly increased the value of the work.
The oil painting “Vandalised Oil (Choppers)” – the recreation of a landscape painting from the 18th or 19th century with two attack helicopters sprayed over it – changed hands for around 4.4 million pounds (about 5.3 million euros).
«Kissing Coppers» is not for sale
On the other hand, Williams apparently withdrew at the last minute the copy produced on canvas of the work “Kissing Coppers”, which first appeared as a mural in the coastal city of Brighton in 2004. It shows two British bobbys kissing tightly. It was initially not clear why the 48-year-old apparently changed his mind. The auction house only announced that the work had been withdrawn.
Another work achieved the highest price of the evening. In an auction that also took place at Sotheby’s, the painting “L’empire des lumières” by René Magritte was auctioned for 59.4 million (equivalent to around 71.4 million euros). (dpa)