A truck covered in paintings by the famed graffiti artist Banksy is set to head to the auction block later this month and experts believe it could fetch more than $1.7 million.
According to the auction house Bonhams, the co-founder of a circus touring company called Turbozone offered the 1988 Volvo FL6 truck to Banksy as a “blank canvas” during a party in 1999. The anonymous street artist, who was relatively unknown at the time, spent two weeks painting the vehicle’s 80-square metre surface.
After that, the truck spent the next few years travelling throughout Europe and South America as part of the circus company’s Cinderella show, Bonhams said in a press release.
Some of the artwork adorning the truck includes an image of a male figure swinging a hammer towards metal cogs, flying monkeys and red stars with the words “circus” stenciled across, and a group of soldiers running away from a cannon.
“The cumulative result is a resounding statement, both a direct call to arms against the establishment and the transformation of a mundane service vehicle into extraordinary work of art,” the auction house said.
The art-covered truck will go under the hammer at Bonham’s motor car auction in Sussex, England on Sept. 14. The auction house estimated it will go for an estimated $1.7 million to $2.6 million.
