Street art bonanza at Phillips de Pury auction

Despite a recession looming, contemporary design and art at auction continues to do well.


Pieces by urban artists Blek le Rat and Banksy have exceeded estimates at a 454-lot auction held by Phillips de Pury & Company in London at the weekend.


Banksy’s most sought-after piece, Radar Rat, fetched £11 000, surpassing its estimate of between £4000 and £6000 by more than £5000.


Bomb Middle England went for £1500, the original having set an auction record for a Banksy, when it sold for £102 000 last year.



At  £1000, Blek le Rat’s Homeless in Paris sold for more than twice its estimated price, while a second piece, Desert Storm, sold for £3125.


Designer and architect Ron Arad had two furniture pieces in the auction – his Rover chair sold for £3300 and his two-seater Rover chair for £4000.


Tobias Sirtl, director at the auction, says of the Arad sale, ‘we had some good interest beforehand, he continues to sell very well.’


The auction also featured paintings, prints and drawings, which were sold alongside sculptures, mosaics, toys and record covers.


It was the first time that many artists, including street artist Bast, whose Chanel Bottle Day canvas went for £8125, had seen their work reach auction.

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