Banksy painting which appeared at Southampton Hospital last year has sold for £16 million

A piece of artwork by Banksy which was put on display at Southampton General Hospital last year has been sold for over £16 million to raise money for an NHS Charity.

The painting has raised £14.4 million, the buyer’s premium raised the price to £16.8 million. A “significant proportion” of the premium will also be donated meaning that Southampton Hospitals Charity would receive over £16 million. This was a world auction record for a Banksy piece.

The Southampton Hospitals Charity has said “proceeds from the auction of Banksy’s Game changer will be used to fund wellbeing projects for staff and patients” at University Hospital  Southampton and proceeds will also be distributed to the wider community of healthcare.

University Hospital Southampton tweeted about the artwork saying: “Incredible amount of money raised by the auction of Banksy – amazing to think a share of it will be directly supporting wellbeing of our staff and patients.”

The artwork features a boy in dungarees playing with a nurse toy whose arms are arranged in a ‘superman’ position. The nurse wears a cape, a face mask and a white apron with a red cross on it. It also shows a toy basket with discarded Batman and Spiderman toys in it.

Banksy left a note for the hospital workers along with the artwork which said: “Thanks for all you’re doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if its only black and white.”

A reproduction of the artwork will remain on display at the hospital.

Featured image via Instagram @banksy

Related articles recommended by this writer:

• ‘Thanks for all you’re doing’: New Banksy artwork revealed at Soton Hospital

• A group of Solent girls got stuck in a uni lift and documented the whole thing on TikTok

• #ReclaimTheseStreets Soton: Why the vigil was important, and what it meant for women