Basquiat and Banksy to cover auction in graffiti

Daubing the subways of New York in the 1980s with provocative images that shocked the establishment was how it all started. Two decades later, Jean-Michel Basquiat,  Keith Haring and David Salle are being hailed as the founding fathers of a modern-day art form.

Now Bonhams auction house is to hold the world's first Urban Art auction sale, providing a "visual history" of how the genre they established came out of the slums to become the toast of the art world. The auction on 5 February, which also includes works by Banksy,  Paul Insect, Adam Neate and D*Face, reveals how Basquiat and Haring's legacy has led to growing demand and rocketing sales of urban art today.

Michelle Gonsalves, spokeswoman at Bonhams, said there was a direct route from the New York artists and those working in London now. "There are parallels to be drawn between how and what was expressed through the New York arts scene of the 1980s by artists such as Basquiat, Haring and Salle, to what is currently taking place in London by artists such as Banksy and Neate," she said.

The sale of about 100 works includes Banksy's screen print of Kate Moss, estimated to sell for up to £30,000, Insect's Elvis, estimated at up to £8,000; and Haring's Pop VI, estimated at up to £2,000.

While Banksy, whose work has been bought by Brad Pitt and his girlfriend Angelina Jolie, is the best-known British urban artist, others have recently come to the fore.

Antony Micallef, 32, whose work sells for up to £350,000, has been bought by Christina Aguilera, Jude Law and Sharon Osbourne.
He also paints conventional pictures and, like Banksy, is represented by the London gallery Lazarides.

Other artists in the Bonhams sale include Space Invader,  Swoon, D*face,  Adam Neate and Paul Insect, a pseudonym for the 36-year-old graphic designer Paul Humphrey. His portrait of Elvis Presley is estimated at £8,000.
Insect’s first exhibition, Bullion, was cancelled last summer after Damien Hirst bought the entire collection.........

Bonhams are delighted to announce their forthcoming sale of Urban Art. This innovative auction, the first of its kind ever held, will examine the way that this democratic and at times controversial art form has captured the zeitgeist. We aim to document the incredible phenomena of street art in its broadest sense by exploring its transition from underground subculture to mainstream art movement.........

This year Bonhams sold two works by Banksy,  Banksy Self Portrait fetched £198,000 and a copy of a cover he painted for the Blur album Think Tank went for £228,000..........