In today’s art market, do people still appreciate the artworks themselves, or do people appreciate only names of famous artists? The English graffiti artist Banksy revealed on his social media that his work was rejected by The Royal Academy of Arts when submitted under a pseudonym.

The Royal Academy of Arts is currently holding a summer exhibition in London. Banksy created his work – Vote To Love and submitted it to the Academy.

The ‘Vote Leave’ campaign for Brexit

Vote To Love was inspired by a ‘Vote Leave’ poster used for the EU Referendum in June 2016. The poster uses only red and white, which Banksy also used in his work. However, Banksy transformed the world ‘Leave’ into ‘Love’ by adding a heart-shaped balloon covered in plasters to replace the letters e and a.

Vote To Love is currently hanging in the exhibition

When attempting to submit Vote to Love the first time, Banksy used the name Bryan S Gaakman but was rejected. A month later, the Royal Academy invited Banksy to submit something for the exhibition. He sent the same piece of artwork and was immediately accepted. The Royal Academy has yet to provide a response to the incident.

This summer exhibition showcases more than 1,300 works. Most of the pieces can be sold at a fixed price, ranging from a few hundred pounds to over ten thousand pounds. Vote to Love is priced at a whopping £350m (US$464m). The price in fact is a symbolism referencing the amount that the Leave campaign once promised would go to the UK National Health Service each week if Britain left the EU. 

Some featured exhibits:

The exhibition is opened from now until 19th August.

The Royal Academy of Arts｜250th Summer Exhibition (London)

Location: Burlington House, Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 0BD, UK
Date: 2018/12/6 - 19/8
Hours: 10am - 6pm (Opened until 10pm on Fridays)
Admission:
Adults｜£16
Students, persons aged 16-18, persons with disabilities｜£11
Persons under the age of 16｜free admission
Enquiries: +44 20 7300 8090