A painting by the artist Banksy honoring UK healthcare workers has set a new record for the artist, selling for £16.7 million ($23.1 million) at Christie’s in London.
“Game Changer,” which the enigmatic street artist donated to the University Hospital Southampton (UHS) in May of 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic, depicts a young child playing with a toy nurse wearing a Red Cross emblem, a cape and face mask. In a nearby basket, figurines of Batman and Spiderman lay forgotten.
The work sold for over four times its high estimate of £3.5 million ($4.8 million) and nearly doubled Banksy’s previous record, the 2009 oil-on-canvas “Devolved Parliament” of British politicians as chimpanzees in the House of Commons, which sold for £9.9 million ($13.6 million) at Sotheby’s in 2019.
‘Game Changer’ by Banksy Credit: From Christie’s
Until now, “Game Changer” had only been seen on display at the hospital (a reproduction will now replace it). When Banksy donated the work, he included a note that read: “Thanks for all you’re doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if its only black and white.”
Christie’s has described the work as capturing “the simple, universal values that have come to the fore during the pandemic – family, home and time spent with loved ones.” The painting is a heartfelt moment for an artist who often plays up his sardonic appeal. In 2018, Banksy made headlines when his iconic work, “Girl With Balloon,” self-destructed just after selling for $1.4 million at Sotheby’s (the spray-paint-on-canvas composition, which had been half-shredded in its frame, was then renamed “Love is in the Bin”).