Banksy dropped off his latest work, an oil painting in which the street artist added a Nazi soldier, to the Housing Works thrift store on Tuesday.
The thrift store uses money from sold donated items to help various charities for the homeless and AIDS, Reuters reports. The store put the painting up for auction starting at $74,000.
Just a day later the painting is up to $220,000. Elizabeth von Habsburg, managing director of Winston Art Group, said, "It could go for as high as a million dollars or even higher because there's so much buzz about." Von Habsburg believes the painting could go for somewhere between $600,000 and $1 million by the time the auction ends Thursday night.
According to New York Post, the painting, which shows a Nazi soldier sitting and looking at a peaceful river scene, is part of the art installation "Better Out Than In" that Banksy has been doing all across New York.
The painting is titled "'The banality of the banality of evil,' Oil on oil canvas, 2013," according to Banksy's website. "A thrift store painting vandalized then re-donated to the thrift store."
"This is one of the coolest things that has happened to us in a long time," said Rebecca Edmondson, Housing Works spokesperson, told the site. It's such a great gesture, what he did today is really special. He may be controversial, but there is no controversy in the fact that it goes to something good."
image: Wikimedia Commons
