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Ł198,000 Banksy makes a monkey of estimates

By Ed Harris, Evening Standard 26.04.07

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A self-portrait, featuring a stencil of a chimp's head, sold for Ł198,000

A spray-painted artwork by Banksy set an auction record when it sold for £288,000 - 20 times its estimate.

Space Girl and Bird was snapped up by a mystery US buyer at Bonhams following a fierce bidding war.

A self-portrait by the secretive graffiti artist, featuring a stencil of a chimp's head, sold for £198,000 - five times its original estimate.

Both sales smash the artist's previous record of £102,000, set at Sotheby's this year for Bombing Middle England.

Bonhams art specialist Gareth Williams said: "We are delighted with the result. The art market for contemporary cutting edge art is booming and Banksy's work has become part of this culture."

The Space Girl spray paint on steel work was one of a series of designs commissioned by Blur for the cover of their Think Tank album, and appeared on the cover of a promotional CD.