A Banksy triptych is almost a juxtaposition in terms – the former associated with popular culture, the latter more at home in the renaissance. Yet 2020, a year full of surprises, had one more up its sleeve – the infamous artist’s decision to auction of his work for a Bethlehem hospital.
Banksy’s 2017 work, entitled Mediterranean Sea View 2017, may at first glance seem like a departure from his existing corpus, three framed seascapes which seem to belong more to the Romantic-era than the present day. Yet upon closer inspection the pieces act as a social commentary in the same way all Banksy’s work hopes to do – strewn across the shore are life buoys and life jackets a reference to the current refugee crisis.
For Alex Branczik, the head of contemporary art for Europe at Sotheby’s, the work’s beauty comes from its political commentary. He notes: “This triptych hangs in Sotheby’s galleries alongside works by some of history’s greatest landscape painters, including Bellotto, Van Goyen and Turner. Banksy’s work, however, stands alone for its potent political message.”
The paintings were originally created for Banksy’s Bethlehem Walled Off hotel, which lays claim to the “the worst view of any hotel in the world” as it looks on to the barrier separating Israel from the Palestinian territories. The triptych was formerly displayed in the hotel’s lobby.
Proceeds from the work’s sale will go towards an acute stroke unit and children’s rehabilitation equipment for the BASR hospital in Bethlehem.
It will be sold tomorrow evening, with an estimate of between £800,000 and £1.2 million.
