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Beverly Hills, Calif. • A mural stenciled on the side of a Hollywood gas station five years ago by the British street artist Banksy has fetched more than $200,000 at a Beverly Hills auction.
The 9-by-8 foot "Flower Girl" artwork sold for $209,000 on Thursday at an auction that featured nearly 100 works by more than 30 artists, according to the Los Angeles Times. The winning bid came from a Los Angeles buyer who requested anonymity.
The mural shows a little girl holding a flower basket under the eye of a surveillance camera planted atop a tall stalk.
The seller of the mural was Eytan Rosenberg, former owner of a gas station, who had allowed a group of three street artists to paint something on its white brick wall.
Rosenberg sold the gas station last year and painstakingly removed the artwork and installed it in a sturdy aluminum frame. He and his sister want to use the money from the sale to build a car wash.
Banksy, who refuses to reveal his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England. He is known for his silhouetted figures and spray-painted messages.
The highest known price for a Banksy work is about $1.1 million for a mural called "Slave Labor" that was auctioned in London in June.
Banksy's work has caught the eye of A-list Hollywood celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who recently bought a smaller piece for $1 million.