Banksy Leads Christie's Online $1.52m 'Contemporary Edition: London' Auction

Banksy Leads Christie's Online $1.52m 'Contemporary Edition: London' Auction

3 min read  ·  02 Apr 2025

Girl with Balloon by Banksy sold for $244,300.
Image courtesy of Christie's Online

Girl with Balloon by Banksy sold for $244,300. Image courtesy of Christie's Online

A work by Banksy was the headline sale at Christie's Online 'Contemporary Edition: London' auction on April 1.

  • The sale totaled $1.52m (GBP1.17m), meeting the pre-sale estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

  • 72 works sold totaling $1.52m.
  • Estimates totaled: $1.48m (low) and $2.23m (high), excluding premiums.
  • The sell-through rate was 85% of the original 85 lots announced.

The star lot was: Banksy, Girl with Balloon (2004), which sold for $244,300, 26% above its $193,900 low estimate. It has not been traded before.

The outperformer sold for 1916% above its low estimate. Christiaan Nagel, Meta Mushroom (Pink) (2023), sold for $13,000 ($646 low estimate).

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

Breakdown of results against auction house estimates that are disclosed

  • 38 works, or 53%, sold above their high estimate.
  • 25 works, or 35%, sold within their low and high estimate.
  • 9 works, or 12%, sold below their low estimate.
  • 0 sold with undisclosed estimates.

Guaranteed sales

No sales had a guarantee.

Works that did not sell

13 works were bought-in, including: Banksy, Flower Thrower Triptych (Grey) (2019), estimated at $129,200 (low) to $193,900 (high).

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Estimates, sale prices and totals are converted into US dollars. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.


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