Photos over 20 years old show the enigmatic artist known as Banksy at work, painting a 17-ton train car in Malaga, Spain that is now worth nearly $2 million dollars. Little did the artist know that a man who was talking to him took a photo and held on to it all these years.
Gloucester Live reports that the never-before-seen photos of Banksy that emerged show the artist painting his biggest ever artwork.
The train car was called The Turbozone Truck, it went up for auction with the starting price of £1 million ($1.27 million USD) to £1.5m ($1.9 million USD) after it was authenticated by his studio. The photos also appear to be authentic as it is a well-known piece by the artist.
“I used to spend a lot of time in Bristol,” the unidentified photographer said. “Our friends told us about this party that was going on in Spain and we thought why not? At the time we were very aware of Banksy’s stuff when it was popping up, but he was still quite under the radar.”
The pictures were taken in the early hours of a New Year’s Day party in Malaga. At the time, they had no idea how big Banksy would eventually become after he blew up.
“Then we were at the party and saw this guy painting—the three of us just turned to each other and said it’s got to be Banksy!” he said. “Little did we know at the time he would go on to become one of the most famous artists in the world.”
The photographer then says he approached the man and asked him if he was the elusive street artist, and says the man confirmed he was Banksy.
“It wasn’t much of a conversation–-I remember we said how we’ …
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Author: Benjamin M. Adams / High Times
