Banksy’s ‘Show me the Monet’ to go on sale for up to £5 million

Painting hailed as one of street artist’s most important works previewed in London

Banksy's 'Show Me The Monet' is the star lot of the auction on October 21. Getty Images

Street artist Banksy's tongue-in-cheek tribute to renowned impressionist Claude Monet will go on sale at Sotheby's in London for an estimated £3-5 million (Dh14.2-23.7m).

The oil painting, titled Show me the Monet, dates from 2005 and features the beloved French painter's lily pond strewn with jarring additions including partially submerged shopping trolleys and a floating traffic cone.

The work is due to go on sale at a livestreamed auction in London on Wednesday, October 21, where estimates suggest it could sell for up to £5 million. It was first shown as part of the elusive street artist's second gallery exhibition in the UK capital 15 years ago.

The painting was unveiled on Friday for the start of a two-day preview and will travel on to New York and Hong Kong this month.

Sotheby’s European head of contemporary art, Alex Branczik, said: “In one of his most important paintings, Banksy has taken Monet’s iconic depiction of the Japanese bridge in the impressionist master’s famous garden at Giverny and transformed it into a modern-day fly-tipping spot.

“Ever prescient as a voice of protest and social dissent, here Banksy shines a light on society’s disregard for the environment in favour of the wasteful excesses of consumerism.”

A Banksy painting depicting British members of parliament as chimpanzees sold for £9.9 million in what is believed to be a record for the artist.

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