With the recent events at the Sotheby’s’ auction house, it seems that street artist Banksy’s name has reached top headlines and a new height of fame. The auction had a $1.4 million painting partially shredded by the elusive street artist himself. There are supposedly several reasons as to why he destroyed the paintings, one being that he “secretly built a shredder into a painting … in case it was ever put up for auction.” However, if you look at his history there might be different reasons as to why he destroyed his painting.

Before he gained a huge amount of fame he was generally known in the UK as he amassed a small amount of fame from his artwork. It wasn’t until he visited America to where he gained his current popularity. One daring example was his statue at Disneyland. At the amusement park, he placed a life-sized statue of a Guantanamo Bay prisoner right near the Rocky Mountain ride. Now, the message conveyed was a protest about the detention that was happening in Cuba, and his other pieces of art often contain commentary on society or a political message. One example was the San Francisco piece of art that contained the message of pursuing peace, as it shows we often succumb to violence to help us solve our problems.

For the rest of his visit to America, he drew many other famous pieces of art that ultimately contributed to his fame. He is not only known for his messages in his work but also the quality of art. His works clearly show that he is talented in shading and pays attention to details, while the effort shown in his pieces of art caught the attention of art collectors who would pay millions for his graffiti. One of his best-known works was the “Socialist Rat” which also included a very interesting story, in which one man, Brian Grief, spent more than $30,000 to preserve the painting.

Freshman Branden Leong commented about the events at Sotheby’s, stating, “ I’d say that I certainly wouldn’t do it myself.” Though he had a neutral stance about the events as he said, “Well, it’s just like if I built a magnificent palace; I’m entitled to demolish it if I wanted to, as long as I own it.” Another freshman, Bryce Wong, said that “even though he can shred his own work since it has a high value (1.4 million), it should be illegal to shred that.”

Several people see Banksy’s art as something to be preserved, people like Brian Greif. After Mr. Greif successfully removed the series of wooden panels housing the painting, he then wanted to donate the piece to a local museum, but his request was rejected due to not having an official document claiming ownership. Mr. Greif turned to the auctioneer, Stephan Keszler, to try to find the painting “a home.” The piece was put up for display at the Fine Arts Auction in Miami, Florida. Many other street artists condemned the auction as they had conflicting views of the art collectors, while others adopted the idea that their art is to be temporary a message to be viewed by many. Yet many fine art collectors, including Mr. Keszler, claim that they are doing Banksy a favor, preserving his work. While Banksy said he destroyed the Red Balloon painting because it was put up for auction, it’s good to keep in mind that most of his works often contain another hidden message.