Banksy to auction painting drawn in hospital

Street artist Banksy hopes to raise more than 3.5 million euros for the National Health Service in the UK (NHS) with the auction of a painting offering a ‘universal tribute’ to staff, Report informs referring to BBC.

The graffiti appeared at Southampton General Hospital during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The anonymous artist is now auctioning the original canvas to raise funds for the NHS, with a reproduction of the work to remain in the hospital.

The painting shows a young boy kneeling and playing with superhero dolls.

While Batman and Spiderman are discarded in a bin, the child clutches a figure of a masked nurse wearing a cape.

The image was hung in collaboration with the hospital's managers in a foyer near the emergency department.

Auction company Christie's said the painting ‘offers an image of hope’ and represents a ‘personal tribute to those who continue to turn the tide of the pandemic.’