Banksy's baby playing with nurse-heroine goes up for auction. Proceeds to charity

It will go up for auction at Christie’ s the work Banksy had dedicated to British health system workers last May, during the first wave of the Covid-19 contagion. The work, a monochrome canvas that Banksy had hung in the lobby of the hospital in Southampton, northern England, on May 6, 2020, had gone around the world and was clicked on social media for its extreme simplicity at a time of heightened emotional tension around the pandemic: the Bristol-based street artist, in his Game Changer (this is the title of the painting, an oil on canvas), had in fact decided to depict a child leaving in a basket the puppets of “classic” heroes such as Batman and Spiderman and decided instead to play with a nurse-superheroine. Banksy had displayed it with a note saying, “Thank you for everything you are doing. I hope this work brings some light to this place, even if it is only in black and white.”

Making the announcement of the auction of the original canvas was the auction house itself: proceeds from the sale will be donated specifically to theNHS, the UK’s public health system. The estimate is £2,500,000-3,500,000. So far, Christie’s recalls, the canvas has only been seen by doctors and patients at Southampton Hospital: it will therefore leave the hospital for the first time at the very auction (a copy will remain in the hospital, however). The public can already see it at Christie’s headquarters in London, where it remains on display until March 15, before Christie’s 20th Century Art Evening Sale that takes place instead on the 23rd.

"Game Changer," says Katharine Arnold, co-director of Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art for Europe, "is a universal tribute to all those fighting this crisis on the front lines around the world. At a time when we can venture to hope again, and look to life beyond the pandemic, it is important to reflect on the many symbols of strength and hope that we have seen globally since the early 2020s. Banksy’s Game Changer was a light for the staff and patients at University Hospital Southampton, and it was the artist’s desire to auction it off to donate the proceeds to the NHS charity. The work pays tribute to the strength and resilience of those who demonstrated leadership through the pandemic, to the staff of our vital NHS, the nation’s true heroes. At the same time, the work’s little protagonist, depicted in the simplicity of enjoying playing with his puppets, captures the other side of this pandemic, the focus on family, friends and loved ones. It is an honor to present this work at auction and for us to do our best to realize the artist’s vision for this work."

Banksy's baby playing with nurse-heroine goes up for auction. Proceeds to charity

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