Where did all of Banksys NYC art go?

Publish date: 2024-05-18

No one ever asks, “Hey, what ever became of Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ at MoMA? Wonder if it’s still there?”

Banksy’s art, however, is all about impermanence. Two years ago this month, the mysterious British street artist turned New York City into his own massive outdoor gallery.

Each day in October 2013 (barring those where “police activity” scuttled his plans), Banksy created works at random locations around the city — often in the form of satirical messages stenciled on walls.

Each piece drew hundreds of curious onlookers as it was discovered. Now, the question is, what ever happened to all that art?

Almost all of it is gone. The majority were defaced by other graffiti artists within a few hours, like a Chelsea image of a dog peeing on a fire hydrant.

Others, like the painting of two boys beneath a sign reading “Graffiti is a Crime” at 18 Allen St., were painted over by building owners or the city.

The only pieces that survive are the ones that were immediately protected. And so far, no one’s gotten rich off any of them.

Saul Zabar, owner of the eponymous Upper West Side food market, covered with plexiglass a painting that appeared on his building at 79th and Broadway. The whimsical image of a boy hammering a fire standpipe like it’s a carnival game remains intact.

The owners of the Hustler Club dispatched bouncers to guard the Banksy — showing a dejected stage-door Johnny clutching flowers — that was painted on their roll-down gate. The gate was later removed and might be displayed inside the club one day.

Real estate broker Anthony Ruocco had never heard of Banksy when a mural appeared on his building at 1402 Neptune Ave. in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

After he was told the value of Banksy’s work, Ruocco decided to protect the stencil of a robot spray-painting a bar code. A roll-down gate now covers the work.

“It’s kind of more trouble than it’s worth,” Ruocco says. “We’ve got kids coming around with spray cans trying to get at it.”

Ruocco says he checked in on his Banksy recently to make sure the summer heat hadn’t destroyed it, but it’s not top of mind.

He might sell it one day, but figuring out its value is difficult. It would also be expensive to remove the section of the wall, costing an estimated $20,000.

And it might not be worth it. A 7,000-pound chunk cut from a Red Hook, Brooklyn, wall containing a heart-shaped balloon failed to sell at a 2014 auction.

It — along with a sphinx sculpture made of rubble and removed from a Queens lot by the owner of a local auto glass shop who happened upon it — is for sale at New York’s Keszler Gallery.

So is a metal door painted with a fake Plato quote and removed from a Greenpoint, Brooklyn, building.

Selling Banksy’s work can be tricky. The artist discourages it, feeling the works should remain where they are. His representatives refuse to authenticate any street works, which deters buyers.

One Bronx work from the New York “show” is being left where it is. The drawing at 651 Elton Ave. depicts a boy painting the slogan “Ghetto 4 Life” as a butler serves him spray cans on a tray.

The work is protected by a gate and is currently hidden behind scaffolding as the building undergoes a renovation. Owner David Damaghi says the Banksy will be a “showpiece” on the once-derelict apartment building.

“It’s difficult to remove,” Damaghi says. “It’s part of the building.”

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