Highsnobiety

A Banksy triptych of a Mediterranean shipwreck has sold at a recent Sotheby's auction for $2.9 million. The artist will be donating the proceeds from the sale to a hospital in Bethlehem.

The three paintings, referred to as Mediterranean Sea View 2017, show orange life vests washed up on the shore, a reference to the global migrant crisis.

"This work juxtaposes an historic fine art genre with grim contemporaneity," Sotheby's said in the sale listing. "Though posing as eighteenth or nineteenth-century paintings of the 'Natural Sublime', the present work undermines and subverts the viewer's expectations to broach a difficult contemporary issue."

Banksy's donation from the Sotheby's sale will specifically go towards a new stroke unit and children's rehabilitation equipment at the Bethlehem hospital.

"We're often led to believe migration is a drain on the country's resources, but Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian immigrant," he said of the artwork. "Apple is the world's most profitable company... and it only exists because they allowed in a young man from Homs."

The Banksy triptych originally hung in the lobby of the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem. For more on the piece, visit Sotheby's.

We Recommend
  • Image on Highsnobiety
    Pharrell & His $1 Million Louis Vuitton Bag Are Taking Over Paris
    • Style
  • Image on Highsnobiety
    TikToker Noen Eubanks Is the Face of Gen Z Beauty
    • Beauty
  • Image on Highsnobiety
    Loulou Paris Is The Must-Visit Restaurant for Design Lovers
    • Style
  • medicom bearbrick
    These Are the Best BE@RBRICKs to Buy Right Now
    • Style
  • gum sole
    These Are the Best Gum Sole Sneakers to Shop Right Now
    • Style
  • Image on Highsnobiety
What To Read Next
  • gucci ss24
    There's No Raining on Sabato De Sarno's Gucci Parade
    • Style
  • mains umbrella cane
    You Can Stand Under My $38K Mains Umbrella
    • Style
  • Guram Gvasalia
    Did Vetements' Guram Gvasalia & Kate Moss Just Go IG Official?
    • Culture
  • a look at the TAG Heuer x Team Izakawa watch collab
    TAG Heuer & Team Ikuzawa Celebrate Japan’s Lone Wolf With a Carrera Collab
    • Watches
  • jay-z yeezys outfit
    Is Jay-Z Wearing YEEZYs?
    • Sneakers
  • reebok ltd
    Introducing Reebok LTD, A Playground For Creative Evolution
    • Style
*If you submitted your e-mail address and placed an order, we may use your e-mail address to inform you regularly about similar products without prior explicit consent. You can object to the use of your e-mail address for this purpose at any time without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs according to the basic tariffs. Each newsletter contains an unsubscribe link. Alternatively, you can object to receiving the newsletter at any time by sending an e-mail to info@highsnobiety.com

Web Accessibility Statement

Titelmedia (Highsnobiety), is committed to facilitating and improving the accessibility and usability of its Website, www.highsnobiety.com. Titelmedia strives to ensure that its Website services and content are accessible to persons with disabilities including users of screen reader technology. To accomplish this, Titelmedia has engaged UsableNet Inc, a leading web accessibility consultant to help test, remediate and maintain our Website in-line with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which also bring the Website into conformance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Disclaimer

Please be aware that our efforts to maintain accessibility and usability are ongoing. While we strive to make the Website as accessible as possible some issues can be encountered by different assistive technology as the range of assistive technology is wide and varied.

Contact Us

If, at any time, you have specific questions or concerns about the accessibility of any particular webpage on this Website, please contact us at accessibility@highsnobiety.com, +49 (0)30 235 908 500. If you do encounter an accessibility issue, please be sure to specify the web page and nature of the issue in your email and/or phone call, and we will make all reasonable efforts to make that page or the information contained therein accessible for you.