Mark Stryker of the Detroit Free Press describes it as "Detroit's most controversial piece of street art."
He's referring to a mural that was excavated from the Packard Plant in 2010. The artist is the world-renowned, anonymous British artist known as Banksy, the Freep reports.
Well, now the piece is headed for the auction block and is expected to fetch an estimated $200,000 to $400,000. It will be part of the street art scheduled for auction Sept. 30 by Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Stryker writes:
The story of the Banksy in Detroit made international headlines, sparked a lawsuit and opened a debate about the ownership and meaning of graffiti-based street art. The controversy flared up again last year when the gallery announced plans to sell the work to fund its core artistic and education programs — after promising back in 2010 that it would not sell the work.
The nonprofit gallery that owns the piece plans to reinvest the money in an arts-driven redevelopment project on Detroit's east side, according to the Freep.
The mural, which was removed from the auto plant ruins by artists affiliated with the 555 Gallery, is attached to an 8-foot tall, 1,500-pound cinder block. Done in Banksy's trademark stencil style, it features a child with a forlorn expression holding a bucket of red paint and brush alongside the message: "I remember when all this was trees."
