Investing in Street Art: Safe Choice or Gamble?

For a long time now, Street Art has been praised by collectors and prominent art institutions around the world, and it's been some time since we spotted its first appearance in the international art market -- yet, the question remains to this day: other than being an anti-establishment rebellion, is Street Art an art-commodity as well? Few artists symbolize that tension better than Banksy, whose works have fetched millions at auction houses while simultaneously satirizing the very systems that profit from them. But the recent failed sale of Battle to Survive a Broken Heart is a sudden reminder that turning graffiti into blue-chip assets is still a risky gamble.

A woman poses with Battle to Survive a Broken Heart. All right reserved to Getty Images.

The mural in question was painted in 2013 during the artist's residency in NY, and it features one of his iconic motifs: a heart-shaped balloon held together by Band Aids, referencing vulnerability and resilience. Created on a brick wall in a Queens building, the mural has been since then been on the property of the owner of the house, Vassilios Georgiadis, until his passing. His family has then decided to put this work up for auction and donate part of the proceeds to the American Heart Association, an intentional choice led by both the artwork’s imagery and Georgiadis’s personal story, which had the potential to attract philanthropic collectors as well.

The graffiti was estimated $3 million, but it dramatically failed to raise even a single bid. The reasons for this turnout are various: first, the global economy's uncertainty of these past few months have resulted in a more controlled art market, with less speculative sales and more high-end collectors taking a step back in situations where they would have been less cautious just a few years back. Second, the mural was lacking the Perst Control's certificate of authenticity, so no certainty from Banksy’s verification body, crucial to determine the work's value and saleability in the future. Lastly, the logistical aspect of buying a four ton brick wall might have gotten in the way, intimidating a potential collector.

The case of Battle to Survive a Broken Heart is only an example referencing the larger dilemma of monetizing Street Art: these works were never meant to be commercial goods. Their meaning is rooted in site-specificity and temporality. Removing a mural from its urban context to place it in the hands of private buyers raises not only logistical and financial questions, but also ethical ones. Who truly “owns” a work designed for public view? And how do you assign value to an object that was never supposed to be sold or owned by someone? Here lies the eternal paradox of the Street Art market, with collectors often gambling with provenance issues, authenticity risks, and market volatility.

For Georgiadis’s family, however, the piece remains more than an asset: it’s a symbol of personal history, resilience, and hope. Whether or not the market recognizes its financial value right now or will in the future, its sentimental worth to those who protected it is undeniable. And in the world of art, that’s a currency of its own.

Sources:

Gareth Harris, “Banksy mural with $3m estimate fails to sell at New York auction,” The Art Newspaper, April 2024.

Oscar Holland, “Banksy mural removed from NYC wall fails to sell for $3M,” CNN Style, April 2024.

Nadja Sayej, “Banksy and the billion-dollar street art market,” The Guardian, 2023.

Scott Reyburn, “Why Art Auctions Are Quiet This Year,” The New York Times, 2024.