Partially destroyed painting by artist Banksy sold for £18.582m at Sotheby's

Partially destroyed by a shredder, the painting "Love in a Dumpster" by famous British artist Banksy was bought for £18.582 million at an auction at Sotheby's.

Three years ago the painting went under the hammer for £1.1 million, but after it was sold it began self-destruction. At the time it was called The Girl with the Balloon. As it turns out. Banksy had installed a shredder in the frame, which began to cut up the canvas once it was activated. Despite the destruction of almost half of the painting, to cancel the purchase did not. But the new owner decided to give it a new title - "Love in a Dumpster".

The final price of the painting exceeded the preliminary estimate by more than three times - at Sotheby's it was expected to be sold for about £4-6 million. "Love in a Dumpster" became the most expensive painting by Banksy.

Source: Sotheby's