Banksy's painting for healthcare workers up for sale, expected to fetch millions for NHS

Banksy’s superhero nurse artwork titled ‘Game Changer’, a tribute to the medics and healthcare workers amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is being auctioned for charities for Britain’s NHS. The painting was gifted to England’s Southampton General Hospital by the elusive street artist as a thankful gesture to recognize the efforts of the medical fraternity for battling the coronavirus in the frontlines. 

Now on public display on the website for an auction center for bidding, the iconic painting depicts a young boy playing with a doll dressed as a nurse with a mask. Next to the boy, is a trash can holding the superheroes batman, and spiderman. Banksy donated the artwork to the hospital situated in the University of Southampton NHS Foundation Trust System with a note that he posted on Instagram that read: “Thanks for all you’re doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it's only black and white.”

Banksy’s famous painting is now live on the website of the British auction center Christie’s and the legendary artwork is estimated to fetch between £2.5 million (approximately $3.5 million, 2.9 million euros) and £3.5 million. In a statement to the UK's BBC, hospital trust CEO Paula Head stated that the artwork is unique and proves an opportunity to stop the busy lives and reflect and was greatly admired by the hospital staff. 

Meanwhile, in a statement, Christie’s said: “Having delighted staff and patients for the past ten months, Banksy’s gift to the hospital now comes to auction.” It added, that the iconic painting by Banksy for auction represents “bravery and resilience” of  healthcare workers globally, the image of the boy and his new superhero “speaks to an unprecedented global zeitgeist.” 

For 'public display' first time

The auction center informed that the painting has gone up for public display for the first time for its 20th Century Evening Sale and was seen only in person by frontline medical staff and the patients admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 treatment. It elaborated about the artist Banksy saying, “Coming to prominence in the 1990s, Banksy has long been a chronicler of his time. His works have engaged with some of the twenty-first century’s most complex issues, offering stark moments of social observation and critique.”

(Image Credit: AP)