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Australian Who Found Authentic Banksy Print for $300 Sells it for Staggering $184,000

14 May 2021

7 NEWS  |  Alex Turner-Cohen

One Australian has walked away almost $200,000 richer after a lucky find at an art store in Sydney. In 2003, a customer walked into the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) store in Sydney’s Circular Quay and picked up a Bansky print for less than $300. The painting was a copy of infamous street artist Banksy’s iconic Love Is In The Air with a red background, which depicts a protester throwing flowers.  After the purchase, Smith and Singer, Australia’s auction house for paintings, discovered that the artwork was indeed authentic as it was number 450 of an edition of 500 printed by Banksy in 2003.

On Thursday night, 17 years after it was first purchased, the print sold for $184,091 on the international market.

Banksy Print Bought for $300 Sets Record Australian Price at Auction

14 May 2021

The Age  |  Kerrie O'Brien

An Australian record has been set for the sale of a Banksy print with the anonymous artist’s Love Is In the Air (2003) selling at auction for nearly $200,000.  Purchased by an unidentified bidder in America, it was offered in a single-lot, 10-day, online auction by Smith & Singer on Wednesday night and attracted bidders from around the world. It sold for $184,091, doubling the previous Australian record of $73,000.

A $300 Banksy Artwork Bought at the MCA Store in 2003 has Emerged as the Art Bargain of a Lifetime.

4 May 2021

The Daily Telegraph  |  Elizabeth Fortescue

A Banksy screen print picked up at the MCA Store at Circular Quay for less than $300 in 2003 is estimated to fetch its lucky owner between $100,000 and $150,000 at auction this month, eclipsing Banksy’s Australian auction record.

Banksy’s Love Is In The Air is number 450 of an edition of 500 printed in 2003, according to Smith and Singer auctioneers’ chairman Geoffrey Smith.

Banksy Artwork Bought for $300 at MCA Expected to Sell for $150k

4 May 2021

Herald Sun  |  Elizabeth Fortescue

A $300 Banksy artwork bought at the MCA Store in 2003 has emerged as the art bargain of a lifetime.  A Banksy screen print picked up at the MCA Store at Circular Quay for less than $300 in 2003 is estimated to fetch its lucky owner between $100,000 and $150,000 at auction this month, eclipsing Banksy’s Australian auction record.

Banksy’s Love Is In The Air is number 450 of an edition of 500 printed in 2003, according to Smith and Singer auctioneers’ chairman Geoffrey Smith.

Records Fall as Millions Spent on Paintings, Diamond

21 April 2021

Financial Review  |  Gabriella Coslovich

Three million-dollar paintings, six new auction records, and Australia’s first million-dollar diamond were all realised in Sydney on Tuesday night, emphasising the ongoing strength of the secondary art market. Deprived of their international getaways, Australia’s richest, many of whose fortunes have grown during the pandemic, are splashing out at home, and the auction industry is a clear beneficiary. The money needs to go somewhere, and why not on art and luxury goods – tangible art and luxury goods no less.

Old Guard Leads as Art Market gets set for $16m Week

15 April 2021

Financial Review  |  Gabriella Coslovich

Collectors will be spoilt for choice next week as more than $16 million in art goes under the hammer at Deutscher and Hackett, Smith & Singer, and Bonhams. No fewer than four million-dollar-plus paintings by blue-chip artists will be offered – three of them by Smith & Singer.

Post-war Antique Furniture Growing in Value

13 March 2021

The Sydney Morning Herald  |  Stephen Crafti

Furniture from the post-war period saw a number of great proponents, with many European designers making their mark in Australia.

One of the most acclaimed is cabinet-maker and artist Schulim Krimper, described as the “Gio Ponti” – an Italian designer of great note – of Australia by Geoffrey Smith, chair of Smith and Singer (formerly Sotheby’s Australia).

What the Girl Saw: a McCubbin That Sat Beside a Masterpiece

5 March 2021

The Sydney Morning Herald  |  Meaghan Wilson Anastasios

More than 100 years ago, upstairs in the Athenaeum on Collins St, a painting of a girl in the outback sat next to a masterpiece.

What the Little Girl Saw in the Bush - its subject standing by a fencepost, spying on two fairies frolicking in the lush Australian landscape - was exhibited at Frederick McCubbin’s first solo exhibition directly beside The Pioneer, the artist’s monumental work soon to be snatched up by the NGV and become one of the country’s most recognised, admired and loved images.

Exhibitions Now Open

20 February 2021

Toorak Times  |  Mick Pacholli

To celebrate 15 years of the Bowness Photography Prize MGA has partnered with Smith & Singer to showcase the 15 previous recipients during PHOTO 2021 International Festival of Photography. 

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