Well Played, Sir! Banksy Artwork Self-Destructs Right After Being Auctioned For $1.2 Million

A $1,300,000 Banksy artwork self-destructed right after it was sold at Sotheby¡¯s auction.

An alarm sound went off and the frame began to shred the art piece.

The artwork titled Girl With Red Balloon was being auctioned off at Sotheby¡¯s Auction House when an alarm suddenly sounded off and the piece began to drop down through its frame which concealed a shredder and sliced the artwork into pieces.

As of now, it is unclear if the auction house will provide a refund for the artwork, or if has gone up in value.

¡°It appears we just got Banksy-ed,¡± Alex Branczik, Sotheby¡¯s European director of contemporary art told the Art Newspaper. ¡°He is arguably the greatest British street artist, and tonight we saw a little piece of Banksy genius.¡±

BANKSY CANVAS SHREDDED at SOTHEBY'S AUCTION IN LONDON https://t.co/PmdugKdWwJ pic.twitter.com/oVQHm8xeOl

¡ª Michael Surtees (@MichaelSurtees) October 6, 2018

Banksy's famous "girl with balloon" piece that came with its own frame shredded itself immediately after being sold for over $1M at a London auction tonight.
Banksy troll level 100 ? pic.twitter.com/8IBQJlotJ1

¡ª Jesschillin (@jesswchen) October 6, 2018

$1,300,000 BANKSY artwork piece just ¡°self-destructed¡± right after it was sold at Sotheby¡¯s auction!??
(An alarm sound went off and the frame began to shred the art piece.)? pic.twitter.com/TAsrE9ptIh

¡ª Dan Fleyshman (@DanFleyshman) October 6, 2018

A Banksy artwork ¡°self-destructed¡± at a Friday night Sotheby¡¯s auction in London. https://t.co/qXFZhzmy5I pic.twitter.com/H8SR0HDDAU

¡ª hyperallergic (@hyperallergic) October 6, 2018

According to the Financial Times, the vendor selling the piece acquired ¡°Girl with a Balloon¡± directly from the artist himself. Said Sotheby¡¯s in a statement, ¡°We have talked with the successful purchaser who was surprised by the story. We are in discussion about next steps.¡±