Painters Accidentally Whitewash Priceless Banksy Artwork on Hotel Wall

March 24, 2017 5:00 am


Even with Banksy works netting thousands at auction, graffiti still gets no love.

According to the Daily Mail, construction workers painted over an original piece by the legendary street artist tagged on the outside wall of a three-bedroom villa at the GeeJam Hotel in Jamaica. 

The British newspaper reported that the hotel’s owners are friends with the secretive graffiti artist, and after spending time at the establishment, Banksy’s left his mark 11 different times—including the rat stencils (see one above) of which there were three.

A hotel source told the Daily Mail that “When the mistake was realized, [the painters] were mortified—as were the owners.”

The hotel is trying to strip away the two layers of paint to see if they can restore the Banksy rats. It’s unclear how much the three stencils were worth, but the Mail values them at about $5 million.

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—RealClearLife

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