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British street artist Banksy set up a pop-up stall in New York’s Central Park selling Original, signed canvasses of his work for just $60 (£38) each.
The artist posted a video on his website that showed a man running a stall selling ‘imitation’ Banksys.
The public, believing they were fake, largely turned down the deal with many pieces remaining unsold at the end of the day.
‘Better Out Than In’ – the live public art show – has its own website featuring pictures of the art and videos of the sales in New York taking place.
In the video, the older man running the stall making his first sale mid-afternoon, to a woman buying a couple of small canvasses for her children after haggling for a 50% discount.
A New Zealand woman buys two paintings, following which a man from Chicago buys four. He continues to tells the stallholder how he ‘needs something for the walls’ after moving house.
Under the video, Banksy wrote: “Yesterday I set up a stall in the park selling 100% authentic original signed Banksy canvases. For $60 each.”
The day’s takings came to a the small sum of $420 (£263) but some canvases have been estimated to be worth up to £20,000 each.
The estimated value of the canvases sold is a massive £140,000.
Underneath the video Banksy added: “Please note: This was a one off. The stall will not be there again today.”
Banksy, who still remains anonymous, has already transformed several pieces of graffiti across New York, giving them a ‘Broadway makeover’.
In a recent interview talked about the philosophy behind the project. He said: “I know street art can feel increasingly like the marketing wing of an art career, so I wanted to make some art without the price tag attached.
“There is no gallery show or book or film. It’s pointless. Which hopefully means something.”
During his month-long residency in New York, Banksy has vowed to create a new piece of street art every day, either “elaborate graffiti, large scale street sculpture, video installation or substandard performance art”.
The dozen pieces created by the Bristol-based artist have so far included The Sirens of the Lambs, a slaughterhouse delivery truck filled with stuffed animal toys which toured the meatpacking district, as well as a typical Banksy piece of heart-shaped balloon covered in bandages on a Brooklyn wall.