Bonhams to Auction Urban Art  

The auction will be held at Bonhams' New Bond Street salesroom in London on Tuesday, February 5.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 1/28/2008

The works of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat aren’t typically found among the lots at Bonhams, the august auctioneer known better for 18th century Chinese porcelain or gilded Egyptian Revival chairs. That could change on February 5, when Bonhams starts the bidding on its first-ever auction devoted solely to urban art, to be held at the New Bond Street salesroom in London.

Other notable artists in the sale include Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Antony Micallef, Adam Neate, Faile, Paul Insect, Space Invader, Swoon, and D*Face. Bonhams, founded in 1793 and laying claim as one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques, says the sale "will document the incredible phenomenon of urban art by exploring its transition from an underground subculture to the mainstream."



Featured works range from stencil spray paintings to posters and flyers that had been illegally "flyposted," mediums that are almost exclusive to street culture. "Urban art is art at its most accessible, available in the public arena for universal appreciation," says Bonhams urban art specialist, Gareth Williams. "However, by definition it is also an ephemeral art form, often disappearing as fast as it appears. By transposing their images from street wall to canvas, urban artists are now creating a permanent legacy without compromising the vitality of their art form and it is these works which are currently taking the market by storm."

Highlights of the sale include British prankster Banksy's stencil spray paint on canvas "Laugh Now," which is estimated to fetch $75,000 to $120,000, and his "Kate Moss" screenprint, which is expected to bring in between $40,000 and $60,000. Bonhams previously sold Banksy's "Space Girl and Bird," designed as artwork for Blur's Think Tank album, for $560,000, twenty times its original estimate and a world auction record for his work at the time. The reclusive Bansky has many high-profile admirers, including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Jude Law, Keanu Reeves, and Dennis Hopper.

Paul Insect's "Elvis," an oil on canvas from his "Dead Rebels Series," is on the block with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. His first solo exhibition, "Bullion," was cancelled this summer after Damien Hirst purchased the entire collection for a rumored $1,000,000.

A screen print by Keith Haring, a stalwart of New York street art who died of AIDS-related complications in 1990 at the age of 31, lends a historical lineage to the auction and is expected to fetch between $3,000 and $4,000.

From top: Banksy's Di-Faced Tenners screenprint from 2004. His Laugh Now stencil spray paint on painted board from 2002 measures 20 feet in length and was originally comissioned as the backdrop for a nightclub's bar in Brighton, England.

Images courtesy of Bonhams