A Banksy artwork originally painted on a wall in Brooklyn is set to go up for auction.
Titled "Battle to Survive a Broken Heart," the piece will be available for bidding starting May 21 at Guernsey's, a New York-based auction house, The Independent reported.
The piece was originally created by Banksy in 2013 when the famously elusive British artist painted a heart-shaped balloon patched with a Band-Aid on the side of a Brooklyn warehouse.
It quickly drew crowds, but just days after it appeared, someone defaced it by spray-painting "Omar NYC" in red next to the balloon.
Soon after, additional graffiti appeared. The phrase "is a little girl" was stenciled in white and pink next to Omar's tag, followed by what seemed like a sarcastic comment in black: "I remember MY first tag." Some believe Banksy may have returned secretly to add this response himself.
Maria Georgiadis, whose family owned the now-demolished warehouse, oversaw the removal of the wall section to preserve Banksy's artwork. She likened the layers of graffiti to a reflection of New York's character.
"It looks like a war going on," she said, according to The Independent. "They're literally going at it on the wall."
Georgiadis, a Brooklyn schoolteacher, described the upcoming sale as bittersweet. Her late father, Vassilios Georgiadis, had operated his roofing and asbestos removal business out of the warehouse where the Banksy mural appeared. He died from a heart attack four years ago at the age of 67, and in his memory, part of the auction proceeds will be donated to the American Heart Association.
"It's just very significant to us because he loved it, and he was just so full of love," Maria said. "It's like the bandage heart. We all have love, but we've all went through things, and we just put a little Band-Aid over and just keep on moving, right? That's how I take it."
Maria said she hopes the new owner of "Battle to Survive a Broken Heart" appreciates the same artwork the way her father did. When Banksy created the mural, the family's business was recovering from the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy. Despite not knowing who Banksy was, Maria said her father was moved by the mural.
"My dad had it in his head that Banksy knew what we went through," she said. "He goes, 'Can you believe it, Maria? It's a heart.'"
Earlier this year, Blink-182 co-founder Mark Hoppus put his rare Banksy painting up for auction, and the artwork sold for £4.3 million ($5.5 million) at Sotheby's Modern and Contemporary Evening Auction in London, according to Artnet.
The piece was part of Banksy's Crude Oils exhibit and is a reinterpretation of the 1992 artwork "The Singing Butler" by Scottish artist Jack Vettriano.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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