A piece of Banksy artwork has been auctioned off for £81,000 with the money going to a children's hospital in Ukraine. The 2005 work CND Soldiers, which depicts two soldiers graffitiing the symbol of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament on a wall, was sold via “silent auction” on the website MyArtBroker.com.
The website initially was only accepting bids in excess of £20,000. However, after a rush of interest from bidders, the starting point was doubled to £40,000.
By the end of bidding on Monday, the piece had been auctioned off for a total of £81,000. The site did not charge any commission during the sale and all the money raised will be sent to the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv.
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It is the largest children’s hospital in the country and has been continuing to provide treatment as the war continues into its second month. As well as treating critically ill children, Ohmatdyt is admitting people of all ages injured in Russian attacks.
In a statement on its website, MyArtBroker’s managing director Charlotte Stewart said: “An incredibly generous client offered to sell their ever-relevant CND Soldiers print by Banksy. With starting bids of £20,000, the highest bid has far exceeded our expectations at £81,000.”
She continued: “Such extraordinary generosity from our seller, could not have been better reciprocated by the winning bidder, whose donation of £81,000 will make an enormous difference to the lives of staff, children and their families in the weeks ahead.”
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