A treasured Banksy owned by a member of Blink-182 is up for auction

A rare, hand-painted Banksy work is set to be sold at auction by Sotheby’s in London, carrying an estimated value of up to £5 million (€6 million). A portion of the proceeds will go toward supporting victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.

The painting comes from the collection of Mark Hoppus, bassist of the California skate-punk band Blink-182, who has long admired Banksy’s work.

“I feel like street art and punk rock have the same core,” Hoppus said. “The left-out and overlooked making their own reality. Just go make art. It’s the same spirit. And I’ve loved art and especially street art ever since realising that.”

‘Crude Oil (Vettriano)’ is part of Banksy’s 2005 ‘Crude Oil’ series, in which the elusive, Bristol-born artist reimagined famous paintings with a satirical twist. This particular piece is based on Scottish artist Jack Vettriano’s ‘The Singing Butler’, which originally depicts an elegantly dressed couple dancing on a beach while servants hold umbrellas over them.

In Banksy’s version, the scene takes a darker turn – an oil tanker sinks in the background, and two figures in hazmat suits wheel a barrel of toxic waste.

“We loved this painting since the moment we saw it,” said Hoppus, who bought the artwork with his wife, Skye Everly, in 2011. He said the painting – “unmistakably Banksy, but different” – has hung in the family’s homes in London and Los Angeles.

Hoppus said he would use the proceeds of the sale to buy work by upcoming artists. Some will go to the California Fire Foundation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Cedars Sinai Hematology Oncology Research.

‘Crude Oil (Vettriano)’ is currently on display at Sotheby’s in New York until Thursday (20 February) and in London from 26 February to 4 March.