Banksy mural ‘Girl On A Swing’ up for auction – along with the Los Angeles building it was painted on

You can now stand a chance to own this famous mural and its historic building — if you have $42 million, at least.

By Richard Ng / 14 Sep 2022

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A building in downtown Los Angeles is heading for auction, and with it, the city’s only known Banksy, Girl on a Swing. The massive 3.5m by 10m mural depicts a young girl playfully swinging from the letter ‘A’ of a parking sign. It was stenciled on the side of a former costume company warehouse by the enigmatic street artist during his visit to the metropolitan city in 2010. That was where he was attending the premiere of his documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop.

As a famous street artist, Banksy is known for his thought-provoking and sometimes downright irreverent oeuvres. This probably belongs to the former category; a simple statement on the lack of children’s spaces in LA. The mural also depicts LA's subsequent imagined reattempt to claim playgrounds of their own.

The painting has since attracted international attention from the art community and tourists alike. That said, the building it’s painted on is itself worthy of recognition. The 2,400 sqm building was constructed in 1914. It contains the geometric grandiosity characteristic of the art deco movement synonymous with the 1920s.

Famous art on a century-old building

Hilco Global

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The historic seven-storey building originally housed a costume company sourcing garments and liveries to producers of silent films. It even featured in one, Safety Last! circa 1923. It was bought over by its current owners Tarina Tarantino and Alfonso Campos for US$4 million (S$5.6million) in 2007, who put a further S$2.5 million into refurbishment and renovations over the following years overhauling existing electrical and plumbing systems.

But historic buildings and their rent-paying tenants aren’t immune to the vagaries of a global pandemic. Many of said tenants ended their leases amid the last two years of shutdown, and so too the pair, who have decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (also known as reorganisation bankruptcy to restructure debts).

Thus, the mid-rise building located at 908-910 S Broadway has been put up for auctions. Court filings purportedly state that it is worth S$22.4 million – not including the mural, which would be difficult to appraise in isolation. Unless it is, well, physically removed and sold as a separate entity.

This practice isn’t unheard of – just this year, Crowbar Girl was (somewhat ironically) pried from a wall in Suffolk, UK, by the building’s owner and pawned off for an alleged S$3.4 million. Though obviously, such a practice comes with its fair share of detractors, seeing as how ripping off a chunk of century-old building to put on the auction block might come across as distasteful. It seems that, for now, the couple are aiming to get the mural’s value included in the final sale to the tune of S$42 million (even pricier than, ahem, a recently sold coffeeshop in Yishun).

Bids for the property are due by October 20, says the agency representing the sale, Hilco Real Estate.

Find out more: Girl on a Swing.

Related: Art SG art fair to open in January 2023 with over 150 international galleries

Art Auction, Banksy