Talk about the art of the deal.
A New York City woman believes she may have scored two Banksy artworks for just $120 after coming across a mysterious art sale inside a subway station.
Colleen Alexander, 26, took to TikTok last week to share a video explaining how she bought the works that could have been created by the elusive British graffiti artist.
“I just can’t stop shaking at the chance that this may be real,” Alexander exclaimed at the beginning of her 3-minute TikTok video, which has now been viewed more than 6.6 million times.
The New Yorker said she was at the 14th Street and Eighth Avenue station on her way home from work when she noticed Banksy-style artworks “scattered on the subway stop floor.”
“It had ‘Cash or bitcoin only, this is not a photo opportunity’ signs, and there was no one there. The paintings were just there,” she stated.
Alexander decided to step onto the train and travel home to her apartment on the east side of Manhattan, but couldn’t stop thinking about the artworks she had just seen.
“Something in me was like ‘Go back,’ so I literally got off my train, stopped at the first ATM I could find … and went back to the west side. I was just praying that it [the art sale] would still be there,” she excitedly explained.
Sure enough, Alexander found the artworks were still in place. However, there was now a mysterious man in a ski mask who was surveying the scene.
“I looked around and somebody gave a slight nod, and I [saw] this guy standing, full face covered. I asked, ‘Are you selling those?’ and he just nodded — he would not speak,” Alexander explained.
She allegedly paid him $120 for two of the artworks before rushing home to film her TikTok video.
The young art enthusiast was left so excited by her purchases that she ended her clip by claiming she didn’t even care if they were not authentic Banksy pieces.
“Maybe I’m going to sound like an absolute idiot, but honestly, the value of this art, the way it’s making me feel right now, it might as well be a Banksy,” she said.
“This excitement and this hope … even if it’s not Banksy, all I want to say is thank you to whoever set this up. Thank you!”
The Post has reached out to Banksy’s publicist for comment about the artwork’s authenticity.
If Alexander’s artworks are indeed authentic, she certainly scored herself a bargain.
Banksy is one of the world’s most famous artists, and his works can sell for tens of millions of dollars. Earlier this year, a Banksy artwork sold for $25.4 million at auction in London.
And while the prospect of Alexander nabbing a Banksy work from a subway station may seem farfetched, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Back in 2013, Banksy sold signed spray paintings for $60 apiece at a streetside stall in Central Park. The pieces were actually valued at $31,000 at the time but are now likely worth far more.
Because no one knows what Banksy actually looked like, the artist struggled to sell the works as many passersby did not believe they were the authentic.
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Was Banksy selling artwork for $60 each at an NYC subway station? - New York Post
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