Work by reclusive street artist Banksy which is said to be worth $5 million has been destroyed accidentally.
The owners of a five-star boutique Caribbean hotel have admitted that workmen painted over the spray-painted depiction of rats, assuming they were unwanted graffiti tags.
The decorators were working at the Geejam Hotel in Port Antonio, Jamaica when they mistakenly applied two thick coats of white paint over the anonymous street artist’s trademark stencils.
To compound matters, the hotel is owned by friends of Bansky.
According to the Daily Mail, a source said: “On a visit in 2006 Banksy left 11 stencils as a gift. However, over the summer builders thought a rogue visitor had defaced the walls, and promptly painted over the ones on the outside of the building. When the mistake was realised, they were mortified – as were the owners.”
This is the latest known incident in which Banksy’s work has been destroyed, defaced or damaged. Dozens of his guerilla art offerings all over the world have previously been lost either accidentally or on purpose.
Banksy’s identity remains unknown. Some people believe he was educated at a private school in Bristol, in the west of England, and his real name is Robin Gunningham.
Others maintain Banksy is in fact the name under which a group of artists operate internationally.