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With interest in the anonymous street artist Banksy peaking this summer following his ‘spraycation’ in Norfolk and Suffolk – not to mention one of his works selling for £18.5 million at auction in October – art lovers might be forgiven for thinking that such ‘street art’ is beyond their means.
But an online auction running right now is offering 17 works by the artist sometimes referred to as the ‘East Anglian Banksy’, with guide prices in hundreds of pounds, rather than millions.
Known as ‘Endless’, the now London-based artist graduated from Cambridge School of Art before starting to use the streets as his canvas. His reputation has since soared.
Endless became the first street artist in history to have their work become part of the permanent collection at Florence’s world-famous Uffizi Galleries, he painted the Liberty London department store’s main window display, and he was commissioned to redesign the walls of London’s iconic OXO Tower.
Now 17 of his giclée prints are going under the hammer in a timed online auction run by Keys Auctioneers in Aylsham. The works, which include images of a number of iconic 20th and 21st century figures including artists Gilbert and George, Sir Lewis Hamilton, Sir Alex Ferguson, Donald Trump and Rita Ora, all come from one private collection with guide prices of between £150 and £800.
“Banksy’s working visit to East Anglia in the summer has shone a spotlight on street art in general, and has raised interest in this accessible genre of art,” said Marc Knighton, head of pictures at Keys.
“For most of us, the stratospheric prices being paid for Banksy’s works mean we will never be able to own his art, but this auction shows that high-quality street art can indeed be bought at an affordable price.
“Endless is an artist with a rapidly growing reputation, so this could be an opportunity to invest early on in the artist’s career. But beyond that, the pictures are extremely accomplished and attractive pieces of art.”
The timed online auction runs until Tuesday, December 21 at timed.keysauctions.co.uk/auctions
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