Banksy Shredded Work Sells for 25.4 Million

Love is in the Bin was what remained of the artist's piece Girl with Balloon, which sold in 2018 and was then shredded live in the auction room.

It went under the hammer in London on Thursday, selling for 25.4m - vastly over its estimate.

Before opening the bidding, Mr Barker said that the painting became an "unexpected piece of performance art" when it shredded in the same auction room after being sold to a "private European investor" three years ago.

Opening bids just over 3m, its price tag hit 13m within minutes as numerous offers were placed.

Bidding then gradually climbed to a record 20.5m as the race progressively narrowed down between fewer bidders.

There were a few tentative moments after the bidder, representing a private investor, waited to see if anyone would outdo his client's 22m offer.

A shake of the head from his rival finally indicated they were out of the running.

Mr Barker said: "At £16m ladies and gentlemen we are selling the Banksy at Sotheby's.

"You were here for this fantastic moment."

He then drew laughter from the audience after saying: "I can't tell you how terrified I am to bring down this hammer."

In keeping with his irreverent guerrilla style, Love is in the Bin saw Banksy poke fun at the art world.

Sotheby's contemporary art chairman Alex Branczik said the stunt "did not so much destroy an artwork by shredding it, but instead created one".

"Today, this piece is considered heir to a venerated legacy of anti-establishment art," he added, labelling it as "the ultimate Banksy artwork and a true icon of recent art history".

Back in 2018, moments after the hammer fell at the auction, alarms sounded and the canvas dropped through a hidden shredder built into the bottom.

The unnamed European woman who bought the piece said: "At first I was shocked, but I realised I would end up with my own piece of art history."