Five Artists in the News: A New Banksy Vanishes, The Beatles’ Only Painting Heads to Auction and Elisabeth Frink's Eagle

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No sooner had Banksy confirmed that his latest work could be seen in a London street, it had disappeared. Two men, using a bolt cutter, were spotted taking down the US-style traffic stop sign featuring military drones within hours, Sky News reports. Or was it a stunt?

2

Before [Rembrandt](https://heni.com/news/search?artist=Rembrandt) painted The Night Watch, he made sure that it would survive on the damp wall in Amsterdam where it originally hung, new research by the Rijksmuseum has revealed. The artist covered his canvas in a wash of lead paint to keep it damp proof, Smithsonian Magazine reports.

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The Beatles were holed up in the presidential suite of the Tokyo Hilton in 1966. Besieged by fans (and foe), the four musicians painted to pass the time. The result, Images of a Woman, the only known work painted and signed by the Fab Four, is due to go on sale at Christie’s New York on February 1 with a $400,000 to $600,000 estimate, CNN reports.

4

Lebanese artist [Jad El Khoury](https://heni.com/news/search?artist=Jad%20El%20Khoury) has taken tattered balcony curtains damaged in the Beirut blast in 2020 and transformed them into a poignant installation. “Soft Shields” is on show at Beirut’s Galerie Tanit, The Nation reports.

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Elisabeth Frink was just 28 when she created Eagle (Lectern) in 1962 for the new Coventry Cathedral. Art historian James Fox tells the story of the young sculptor's first major commission, which would sit alongside stained glass, a monumental sculpture and a tapestry works by the likes of John Piper, Jacob Epstein and Graham Sutherland in the great Modernist church. To discover more, watch HENI Talks: A Casket of Jewels: The Art and Architecture of Coventry Cathedral.