This Halloween, there was an auction for the artwork of popular British artist Banksy. The artwork was very controversial, so it is fitting that the auction would be just as controversial.
According to ContactMusic.com , the artwork had a high bid of $615,000. The winning bidder, who is known as “gorpetri” on the auction website Bidding for Good, almost immediately withdrew their bid. The painting was titled “The Banality of the Banality of Evil.” It was a landscape painting that Banksy purchased at a thrift store and then painted a Nazi sitting on a bench in the forefront of the picture, reports The New York Times. This painting was created during Banksy’s so-called New York residency this summer. The auction website attempted to contact the next highest bidder to provide them with the painting, but that bidder refused to purchase it. This led to the suspicion of “shill-bidding”, which is an illegal way to drive up the price in an auction. The painting eventually sold to an anonymous bidder for an undisclosed amount.
The funds from this sale benefit Housing Works, a non-profit organization that helps people with HIV and AIDS as well as homeless people in the New York area.