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One of Banksy’s most iconic works will be up for auction next week, and in a first for a fine art auction house, it will be made available via Bitcoin and Ethereum.
It will be the first physical artwork that accepts cryptocurrency for payment in a major auction.
To make it possible, Sotheby’s partnered with Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges.
The beloved protest image, Love is in the Air, will be offered in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction on 12 May in New York.
Bidding for the work, estimated at $3/5 million, will be conducted in USD, as is customary at Sotheby’s New York, but now the buyer will, for the first time, also have the option to pay the hammer price with crypto.
The move is not a one off either—according to Sotheby’s, it paves the way for further adoption of cryptocurrency across their auctions. Recently, ‘The Fungible’ Collection, Sotheby’s debut NFT sale with the crypto designer-native artist Pak, brought in 3,000 unique collectors, most of whom were first-time buyers.
“As one of the most famous and provocative artists of the 21st century, whose street art interventions and studio practice has continually pushed boundaries and caused controversy the world over with the artist’s signature brand of political and social commentary, Banksy is the disruptor par excellence of the art world. By offering collectors the opportunity to acquire Love is in the Air with cryptocurrency, Sotheby’s honors Banksy’s legacy by pairing this signature painting with an innovative and first-of-its-kind payment solution to open the sale to a new generation of collectors who are as accustomed to digital evolution as they are to Banksy’s activist art,” said the auction house in a statement.
This isn’t the first time that Sotheby’s has been home to a Banksy stunt. If you’ll remember, he destroyed one of his pieces live during auction a few years ago.
Love is in the Air is of the artist’s most cherished works on canvas, notably chosen to be illustrated in Banksy’s 2005 monograph Wall and Piece. The work being sold includes hand painted flowers in oil, and is not merely a copied print.
The work has been referenced, replicated and imitated countless times, and helped cement the artist’s reputation as a pivotal and universally heard artistic voice.
Banksy’s Love is in the Air is currently on view at Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries through Wednesday, May 12, before the Contemporary Art Evening Sale begins at 7:00 pm ET.
Mark your calendars and get your coins ready. No word on whether Dogecoin will be added, but fingers and paws very crossed, such wow.
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