Printing money: How art and cash became the best of friends

Printing money: How art and cash became the best of friends

Paintings sold for nearly half a billion pounds, historic works hidden away in private penthouse collections, and artists priced out by collectors – has art become a rich man’s game?

Words: Tom Ward

Banksy’s Girl With Balloon first appeared on the wall of some steps on Waterloo Bridge in 2002. It depicts a stencilled black and white child reaching for a red, heart-shaped balloon that is drifting just out of reach. On 5 October 2018, it became the centrepiece of a now infamous stunt that seemed to both jibe at the art world and question just how much a piece of art is actually worth.

Further reading