Banksy painting shreds itself minutes after being sold for $1.4 million

Well, there goes that.

October 06, 2018
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Going, going, gone...

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The elusive Banksy is known just as much for his stunts as he is his artwork, so it makes perfect sense that his "Girl with Balloon" piece literally self-destructed just moments after its recent sale at Sotheby's in London.

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The iconic spraypaint and acrylic on canvas piece of a girl grasping at a heart-shaped red balloon began dropping through a built-in, hidden shredder embedded in the artwork's frame after being sold for $1.4 million. It's not clear how the shredder was triggered at the precise moment after the sale, but with Banksy anything is possible.

The artist also reportedly posted a video of him installing the shredder and the frame doing its dirty work to his Instagram before later deleting it.

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While it's not clear what this means for the work's buyer, auction house head Alex Branczik told The Associated Press that the piece might be even more valuable now.

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Thumbnail image via Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images.

Banksy painting shreds itself minutes after being sold for $1.4 million