One of Banksy’s most famous paintings self-destructed just moments after it sold for £1m at an auction in London.
The ‘Girl With Balloon’ stencil painting, which shows a young girl reaching towards a red balloon, was being auctioned at the Sotheby’s auction house last night.
The piece was sold to a bidder for the price of £1.042m but instantly self-destructed as it was purchased as the canvas passed through a shredder hidden inside the frame.
Banksy, whose true identity has never been revealed, posted a photo of the moment on Instagram alongside the caption “Going, going, gone…”.
Sotheby’s have claimed that the stunt is “the first time in auction history that a work of art automatically shredded itself after coming under the hammer”.
They also stated that the not so lucky bidder was “surprised by the story” and they are “in discussion about next steps”.