Tonight:
5°c
'Banksy' artwork painted over in graffiti crackdown
30 Apr 2009An artwork attributed to the street artist Banksy was mistakenly painted over by volunteers cleaning up graffiti, it emerged today.
The political piece, said to be worth £5,000, was painted on a wall two years ago and shows an image of Paddington Bear captioned "Migration is not a crime".
But well-meaning volunteers covered over the precious image as part of the town council's drive to rid the area of graffiti, the authority admitted.
Julian Chatt, who owns the wall, claimed he had struck a deal to sell the piece for around £5,000 before disaster struck.
He told the Western Daily Press: "I'd spoken to the town council in the past and asked them not to paint over the artwork. Sure enough, the last few times the council have been out they didn't paint it over.
"But on Saturday morning, I came out of my house there was this chemical smell and when I turned the corner Paddington was gone."
No one had asked him for permission to paint the wall, he said, adding that his insurance company is examining whether the painting is covered. He said he had also reported it to police.
Glastonbury Town Council said today the image was just one of several in the region said to be by Banksy, but accepted the picture had painted over "in error".
A spokeswoman said today: "If we made a mistake we'll hold our hands up and say sorry. He's been advised he can make a claim against the council, which he hasn't done yet.
"Several places were repainted as part of our anti-graffiti drive. A wall with a picture of Paddington bear on it was painted over behind his property. We are looking to remove the layer of paint and having the conservators look at it.
"There are several of them - you have to make up your mind if it is a Banksy or not."
In November 2007 a Banksy mural in Glastonbury, created shortly before the festival, was also painted over.
Graffiti art by Banksy, who began his career in Bristol, now fetches hundreds of thousands of pounds, attracting the eye of celebrities like Brad Pitt.
A new record price was set in April 2007 when Space Girl and Bird fetched £288,000.
His pieces often have anti-capitalist and pro-freedom messages.
Reader views (6)
Philistines.
- Kev, London-UK, 01/05/2009 09:24
Report abuse
I never liked Banksey's work as he a loony leftie and biased.
- Joe, Swanley Kent, 30/04/2009 17:51
Report abuse
Graffiti isn't art; it's criminal damage. Graffiti painters aren't artists; they're vandals. Banksy and his ilk should be arrested and prosecuted.
- Will, Clifton, Bristol, 30/04/2009 16:02
Report abuse
Just because someone says they are Banksy it doesn’t mean they are - graffiti is still graffiti.
- Ian, Reading, England, 30/04/2009 15:46
Report abuse
Graffiti with political messages such as "Migration is not a crime", should indeed be erased and have the wall knocked down while you are it!
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 30/04/2009 13:41
Report abuse
Good the man is a vandal
- Duncan, Kent, 30/04/2009 13:31
Report abuse
