Two Banksy paintings hammered at 3,093 ETH in Sotheby's first cryptocurrency denominated sale

Sotheby's held The Now Evening Sale last week, which showcased Contemporary Art works of the last 20 years of the 21st century.

During the sale, it was the first time for the international auction house that the auctioneer used Ether (a type of cryptocurrency abbreviated as ETH) for real-time bidding prices – alongside American dollars on two Banksy paintings. The hammer was dropped at 1,696 and 1,397 ETH (3,093 ETH / US$12.4 million dollars in total), which placed as the sale’s second and third most expensive lots.

Yoshitomo Nara’s Nice to See You Again painting performed the most brilliantly. It was sold for US$15.4 million dollars – the Japanese artist’s third most expensive work.

All 23 lots offered were sold, and the sale total was US$71.8 million dollars – displaying a strong trend in the Modern and Contemporary Art markets. 

Lot 11 Banksy Trolley Hunters, Oil and emulsion on canvas  

Created in 2006
137 x 214 cm
Provenance:

  • Lazarides Gallery, London
  • Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2007

Estimate: US$5,000,000 – 7,000,000

Hammer Price: US$5,600,000 / 1,397 ETH

Sold: US$6,698,400

Earlier in May, Sotheby's selected a work by Banksy. It was the first time the international auction house accepted “cryptocurrency as a payment option for a physical work of art.”  

During this autumn season, Sotheby’s chose two Banksy paintings and accepted hammer prices in cryptocurrency. The auctioneer, Oliver Barker, quoted bidding prices in US dollars and ETH for both works. 

Bidding prices in both US dollars and ETH posed challenges for auctioneer, Oliver Barker

Banksy’s Trolley Hunters is the sale’s third most expensive lot.

The painting depicts three prehistoric men in a desert hunting prey – a group of supermarket trolleys. These objects reflect the consumer society’s preference for branded packaged food products – conveniently found in big chain supermarkets.

Auctioneer, Oliver Barker, started the bidding at 1,122 ETH / US$4.5 million dollars. At first, he was uncomfortable and mispronounced new bidding prices a few times. When he got used to it, something else happened.

Phone bids were expected to be in US dollars, where the auction staff calculated the amount of ETH exchanged in real time, and Barker could quote both currencies simultaneously. But during the bidding process, someone on phone bidding duties directly used ETH. Both the auction staff and Barker took extra time to convert ETH into US dollars, especially as the price of cryptocurrency quickly fluctuated during the sale.

In the end, the hammer was dropped at 1,397 ETH / US$5.6 million dollars. The winning bid was by Sotheby's London Contemporary Art Specialist, Emma Baker, for her client with paddle number 153. The painting was sold at US$6.6 million dollars, with buyer’s premium.


Lot 12 Banksy Love is in the Air, Oil and spray paint on canvas

Created in 2006
90 x 90 cm
Provenance:

  • Lazinc, London
  • Private Collection (acquired from the above in 2006)
  • Private Collection
  • Acquired from the above by the present owner

Estimate: US$4,000,000 – 6,000,000

Hammer Price: US$6,800,000 / 1,696 ETH

Sold: US$8,077,200

The sale’s second most expensive lot was Banksy’s Love is in the Air painting.

The auctioneer started the bidding at 898 ETH / US$3.7 million dollars. After more than 30 bids, the hammer was dropped at 1,696 ETH / US$6.8 million dollars – nearly US$3 million dollars of its low estimate. The winning bid was through the phone received in the New York saleroom. In the end, it was sold at US$8.07 million dollars with buyer’s premium.

The painting was originally Banksy’s street art creation located on the West Bank Wall. The person in the painting is dressed up as a demonstrator and poses with gas bombs, juxtaposed by colourful flowers in his hands which have an anti-war sentiment.

With this now-iconic image, Banksy offers the audience a universal message: that the virtues of peace must be harnessed in order to overcome conflict and look ahead to a hopeful future.


Lot 14 │ Yoshitomo Nara Nice to See You Again, Acrylic on canvas

Created in 1996
180 x 150 cm
Provenance:

  • Galerie Michael Zink, Regenburg
  • Private Collection (acquired from the above in 1997)
  • Sotheby's New York, 11 May 2005, Lot 312 (consigned by the above)
  • Acquired from the above by the present owner

Estimate: US$8,000,000 – 12,000,000

Hammer Price: US$13,200,000

Sold: US$15,430,800

Nara's Nice to See You Again painting was hammered at US$13.2 million dollars 

Yin Zhao with the winning bid 

The sale’s most expensive lot was Nara’s Nice to See You Again painting.

The bidding started at US$6 million dollars. After more than 15 bids from Hong Kong, London and New York, the hammer was dropped at US$13.2 million dollars. The winning bid was by a representative of Sotheby's New York Asia Business Development, Yin Zhao, for her client with paddle number 138. It was likely that the bid was from an Asian client. In the end, the painting was sold at US$15.4 million dollars with buyer’s premium and became Nara’s third most expensive work.

After this sale, Nara's top four most expensive works sold are:

  1. Knife Behind Back (2000) | Sold in October 2019 | Sotheby’s Hong Kong | HK$195.6 million / US$25.08 million dollars  
  2. Missing in Action (2000) | Sold in June 2021 | Phillips and Poly Hong Kong | HK$123.7 million / US$15.8 million dollars
  3. Nice to See You Again (1996) | Sold in November 2021 | Sotheby’s New York | HK$120.3 million / US$15.4 million dollars
  4. Berlin Barrack, Room 1 (2007) | Sold in April 2021 | Poly Hong Kong | HK$120 million / US$15.3 million dollars

Nara's auction record, Knife Behind Back (2000) 

Missing in Action (2000) is Nara's second most expensive work

Nice to See You Again (1996) became Nara's third most expensive work 

Created in 1996, this Nice to See You Again painting sees Nara depart from the thick outlines of his early works to his most recognisable and mature aesthetic. 

Set against a vibrant blue background, Nara's archetypal child is concurrently innocent and violent; obedient and unruly  illustrating the radical potential of subversive youth.

The rosy-cheeked, wide-eyed, kawaii girl peers toward the viewer with startling intensity; as one notices her chubby fist brandishing a knife, any assumptions of vulnerability are undermined.

His brushstrokes are rendered with a softer palette and gentle depth. Through masterful layering and chromatic hues, the composition of the present work conveys a sense of void when juxtaposed against the solitary figure  an allegory for the self, situated within a vast and alienating world.


Other highlight lots:

Lot 10 Mark Bradford Method Man, Mixed media on canvas

Created in 2004
322.6 x 304.8 cm
Provenance:

  • Lombard Freid Fine Arts, New York
  • Acquired from the above by the present owner in May 2004

Estimate: US$5,000,000 – 7,000,000

Hammer Price: US$5,000,000

Sold: US$6,009,000

Lot 7 Thomas Schutte Grosser Geist Nr. 1, Acrylic on canvas

Created in 2004
248.9 by 106.7 by 119.4 cm
Provenance:

  • Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
  • Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2005

Estimate: US$4,500,000 – 6,500,000

Hammer Price: US$4,000,000

Sold: US$4,860,000

Lot 5 Matthew Wong Night Crossing, Oil on canvas            

Created in 2018
122 x 152 cm
Provenance:

  • Karma, New York
  • Private Collection
  • Acquired from the above by the present owner

Estimate: US$1,000,000 – 1,500,000

Hammer Price: US$4,000,000

Sold: US$4,860,000


Auction Summary:

Auction House: Sotheby’s New York

Sale: The Now Evening Sale

Date: 18 November 2021

Number of lots: 23

Sale Rate: 100%

Sale Total: US$71,854,800