Banksy strikes again with a secret pop-up art sale by Central Park for his month-long New York residency, Better Out Than In. Set up like any other stall selling merchandise on the streets lining the iconic park, an elderly man sat on October 13th, waiting for customers to pick up “100% authentic original signed Banksy canvases” for $60 a piece (the real market value per piece is said to be $32,000). However, there was absolutely no sign mentioning the elusive artist’s name or alluding to the project.
After a full day of work, the unnamed man was able to sell 8 pieces of art that rounded out to a grand total of $420 (one woman was able to negotiate a 50% discount for the two canvases she purchased for her kids). It’s unclear whether the salesman hired to sell the spray art is aware of the artworks’ value, but he certainly seemed unaffected by their presence.
In the video, below, Banksy accounts for every sale made over the period of approximately 7 hours as each customer unknowingly purchases a valuable canvas. Unfortunately, Banksy announced that this was a one time deal for anyone hoping to snag an original signed work for such an incredible bargain.