And it's probably good news for the buyer

Text Thom Waite

One of Banksy’s most famous artworks, Girl With Balloon – voted the UK’s best-loved work of art last year – tripled estimates to sell at London’s Sotheby’s auction for just over £1million on Friday evening. Then it promptly self-destructed. “It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” said the Sotheby’s senior director Alex Branczik after the sale ended and the iconic image passed through a shredder mounted in its frame. And later, Banksy himself seemed to delight in the prank, posting a picture of the half-shredded Girl With Balloon hanging from its frame with the caption “Going, going, gone…”

The mischievous graffiti artist also followed the surprise self-destruction up with another Instagram post, detailing his handiwork (presumably, since he’s obviously anonymous). “A few years ago I secretly built a shredder into a painting,” the video reads, alongside footage of a figure installing the blades, “in case it was ever put up for auction.”