Street art legend Banksy's list of high-value masterpieces is about to get one entry longer with his "Holywell Row Happy Helicopters" set to grace an auction held by Anderson & Garland, with sale estimation for the piece reaching $890,000.
That said, the artwork wasn't initially welcomed by the owner of the Shoreditch office building whose facade it was on. Located in east London, the painting first appeared on the structure in 2006 and with its confirmation as a Banksy brought unwanted attention to the building.
Constant waves of unsolicited would-be viewers of the piece would prove to be too cumbersome for the office's operation and its owners as the people repeatedly trip over the premise's security measures, prompting the artwork's eventual black paint cover-up.
After being sold the building, the new owner was oblivious that a Banksy masterpiece was right under his nose, covered in black paint.
It was only after he browsed through the "Banksy Captured" (2020) photo catalog, shot and published by photographer Steve Lazarides, that he found out about its existence, recognizing the unmistakable facade of the building he now owns.
After this discovery, he would later request the launch of what would become a lengthy and extensive restoration process.
From Obscurity to Under the Hammer for an Estimated Six-Digit Value
The seller, who wishes to stay anonymous, was quoted by the Anderson & Garland auction house's press release on the sale saying: "After discovering such an important work, we wanted to ensure the integrity of the piece, so approached restoration specialists to find the best way of preserving it for generations to come."
"To our knowledge, no one had attempted to rescue a fragile work of high-profile street art like this before," he added. "As the piece had been painted on render, after several abortive attempts the decision was made to remove it in sections by specialists."
Despite the laborious process that took over a year to safely conserve and restore the three-inch-thick artwork, the Fine Art Restoration Company employed for the endeavor was able to fully retrieve the piece by sectioning it through eight portions.
After its restoration, the experts at the Newcastle branch of the auction house were able to move into the authentication and valuation phase of the overall auction process.
This particular piece, however, was not the only Banksy that Anderson & Garland sold, as another highly-sought artwork by the graffiti artist, dubbed "The Merrivale Stable" was able to fetch a record-breaking final price of £1m in a 2022 sale that garnered worldwide press coverage in just two minutes.
Succeeding this momentous sale were three more pieces from the Banksy's "Wrong War" series, all of which were sold a year later. The upcoming sale this March 20, in Anderson & Garland's "Spring Fine Art Auction," marks the third consecutive year the house has sold a Banksy.
Ahead of the forthcoming sale of the six-by-four-feet mural depicting a set of three Apache attack helicopters, which is a recurring "subject" across Banksy's oeuvre, the piece will first go into a public display starting March 15 through 18 at the house's saleroom in Newcastle.
