A rare painting by the street artist Banksy, inspired by the recently deceased Scottish painter Jack Vettriano, sold for nearly 4.3 million pounds ($5.5 million) Tuesday, according to auction house Sotheby’s.
Entitled “Crude Oil (Vettriano)” and sometimes called “Toxic beach,” the painting first revealed by Banksy in 2005 was sold at Sotheby’s in London, from the collection of Mark Hoppus, bassist with California skate-punk band Blink-182, who sees Banksy as a kindred spirit. Hoppus will donate a portion of the proceeds to two Los Angeles medical charities and the California Fire foundation, following devastating wildfires there in January, Sotheby’s said.
Hoppus said he was drawn to the subversion, humor and intelligence of Banksy’s work and the similarities between “skateboarding, punk rock and art.”
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“I feel like street art and punk rock have the same core,” Hoppus said. “The left-out and overlooked making their own reality. … Just go make art. It’s the same spirit. And I’ve loved art and especially street art ever since realizing that.”
“Crude Oil (Vettriano)” is part of a 2005 series of works in which Banksy put a satirical spin on famous paintings — withering Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and smashing the diner window in Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks.” The artist said his aim was to show that “the real damage done to our environment is not done by graffiti writers and drunken teenagers, but by big business.”
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The rare Banksy is based on “The Singing Butler,” a 1992 painting by Scottish artist Jack Vettriano, whose death, was announced Monday. Known for his works depicting elegant men and women on dreamlike beaches, the artist died in France at the age of 73, his publicist said Monday. The sale of the Banksy painting to a private collector coincided with tributes to the self-taught Vettriano, whose famous fans included Hollywood actor Jack Nicholson.
In “The Singing Butler” a couple in evening dress is seen dancing on a beach as servants proffer sheltering umbrellas. Banksy’s version adds a sinking oil liner and two figures lugging a barrel of toxic waste.
“We loved this painting since the moment we saw it,” said Hoppus, who bought the artwork with his wife Skye in 2011. He said the painting – “unmistakably Banksy, but different” – has hung in the family’s homes in London and LA ever since.
Hoppus said he would use the proceeds of the sale to buy work by upcoming artists. Some will go to the California Fire Foundation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Cedars Sinai Hematology Oncology Research.
Banksy, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. His mischievous and often satirical images include two male police officers kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words, “Laugh now, but one day I’ll be in charge.”
Several of his works have sold for multiple millions at auction. The record is almost 18.6 million pounds ($25.4 million at the time) paid at Sotheby’s in October 2021 for “Love is in the Bin” — an image of a girl with a balloon that partially self-destructed during an auction three years earlier thanks to a shredder hidden in the frame.
contributed to this report.
