Ultra-collectable Banksy print to go under hammer

A LIMITED edition Banksy print of an image that was once described as a picture that “absolutely no one wants to buy - absolutely nobody” is expected to make thousands when it goes under the hammer in a spectacular auction of modern art on Friday.

- By CORALIE THOMSON of Duggleby Stephenson Auctioneers

The picture is “Toxic Mary, the mysterious street artist's re-imagination of the classic Madonna and child paintings of the Renaissance, a version in which Mary is feeding the infant Jesus with a bottle marked with a skull and crossbones.

Quite what message the image was intended to convey has been the subject of critical speculation and debate for more than twenty years (Banksy has never explained the picture).

Meanwhile, it has been described as everything from a “beautiful masterpiece” to a shocking satirical poke at traditional religious art.

Toxic Mary is an early Banksy work that was first seen at an exhibition staged in a London warehouse in 2003.

Shortly afterwards limited edition prints were produced, 600 of which were simply numbered and another 150 that were signed.