A lucky man who unknowingly bought two paintings by the street artist Banksy in Central Park for a measly $60 each could now fetch a whopping $160,000 for them, art experts said.
The signed spray-painted prints— dubbed “Pooh Bear” and “Kids with Guns” — will hit the auction block at Bonham’s, in London. They are expected to rake in roughly $65,000 and $95,000, respectively, reps for the auction house told the UK Guardian.
As part of a month-long New York City street “exhibit,” the playful graffiti artist disguised his prints as a typical street vendor’s, selling them at a pop up booth— complete with table and folding fence — in Central Park in October.
Without name recognition, he sold only eight of the mostly black-and-white paintings. He later noted, “Yesterday I set up a stall in the park selling 100% authentic original signed Banksy canvases. For $60 each” on his web site.
The paintings have since been “authenticated” by Bansky, a rep from the auction house said.
The art was first thought to be worth $250,000 but that estimate was too high, the rep said.
“The fact that his paintings were original and were being offered at a tiny fraction of their true retail value, raises real questions about the perception of worth and the nature of art as commodity within the marketplace,” Gareth Williams, head of contemporary art at Bonham’s, who valued them at $160,000.
“[It’s] something that the artist must be acutely aware of,” he added.
One of the paintings features an image of Winnie the Pooh sitting under a tree next to a tossed-out honey pot.
The other depicts two kids standing on a hillock of guns and bombs.
The art house has not yet set a date for the auction. The seller’s name is unknown.