So much for Banksy’s artwork standing the test of time.
An iconic painting by street artist Banksy fetched $1.4 million at an auction on Friday, before promptly self-destructing, the New York Times reports.
The 2006 work, “Girl With Balloon,” was sold for more than three times what it was estimated to sell for at Sotheby’s in London, after which “we heard an alarm go off,” said auction attendee Morgan Long, head of investment at the Fine Art Group. “Everyone turned around, and the picture had slipped through its frame.”
Watch the video below.
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Long noted that she saw a man being escorted from the building by security after the incident.
At a press conference following the incident, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art in Europe, Alex Branczik, said, “We’ve been Banksy-ed.”
Branczik added that he was “not in on” the stunt.
Banksy shared a photo of the self-destruction on his Instagram page, along with the caption “Going, going, gone…”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.