Should you be woken in the middle of the night by the sound of a hydraulic lift rising from a van, and look out of the window to see a stern-looking bearded man spray-painting something on your wall, your usual instinct might be to ring the police. These days, however, you’d be better off calling an estate agent, an art dealer or both. Should an original Banksy artwork be found on your property, it’s likely to make your home considerably more valuable; assuming, that is, someone doesn’t make off with it before you’ve had a chance to sell it. In Peckham in south London last Thursday, a Banksy picture of a howling wolf appeared on a satellite dish just long enough for the locals to become aware of it before two enterprising amateur art dealers, their identities disguised with masks, produced a ladder and made off with their prize, which could, if Banksy’s recent auction records are anything to go by, be worth hundreds of thousands, or even more.
The Guardian, a predictably pro-Banksy title, suggested the recent antics had ‘been designed to cheer up the public’
In any case, the recent proliferation of Banksy artworks all over London over the past week is bewildering.
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