Today's Banksy work went up later than usual, and maybe that's because the artist was busy orchestrating his 29th piece for his New York residency with the Housing Works thrift shop on 23rd Street.
Banksy's new work is an altered canvas, an idyllic landscape painting that he bought from Housing Works and then painted with a Nazi overlooking the natural vista. Banksy then donated The banality of the banality of evil back to the thrift store where it appeared in the store's window this afternoon. Housing Works is an organization that helps support people suffering from HIV, AIDS, and homelessness. The 23rd Street thrift shop is one of their many outposts in the city. Hopefully the Banksy work will bring in a big chunk of money for the charity.
UPDATE OCT. 30 5:21 P.M. ET: According to Animal, the Housing Works thrift store had a guard watching over the Banksy piece today and did not have plans to open their doors until 5 p.m. when a press person would arrive. As of right now, the piece is going for $301,000 on the website Bidding For Good. The auction will run through tomorrow. Animal had a chat with David Raper, the man in charge of business at Housing Works. Check out their video below:
UPDATE OCT. 1 10:02 P.M. ET: Last night, Banksy's canvas sold for $615,000 at auction by someone named "gorpetri" who put in the winning bid at 7:59 p.m. yesterday. This was the highest revenue for anything sold by Housing Works in the history of the organization, according to PR director Rebecca Edmondson. The money will go towards supporting individuals suffering from AIDS and homelessness.
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