An original piece by street artist and political activist Banksy is set to be sold off at a North East auction house this spring. 

'Happy Choppers', an important work by the secretive artist Banksy, re-discovered in 2008, has been painstakingly restored and is to go up for auction later this year, at Newcastle-based auctioneers Anderson & Garland. 

Executed in early 2006, ‘Happy Choppers’ was documented by Steve Lazarides, Banksy's ‘partner in crime’, in his seminal work Banksy Captured (Volume 1). It was painted onto the wall of a building on Holywell Row, Shoreditch, London, and has more ‘Apocalypse Now’ type Apache helicopters than any other piece by the artist.

The Northern Echo: Banksy's rediscovered 'Happy Choppers'.

The work of art had surprisingly been painted over by the previous owner of the building, as it was considered a security problem. The building was later sold to the current owner, without mention of it.

In 2008, while thumbing through 'Banksy Locations and Tours' by Martin Bull, a Christmas gift for his son, the vendor recognised his neighbour’s building in one of the images. This meant the Banksy was on his building - he dashed over to investigate further.

The section of the wall had now been painted black, however, tucked away and only just visible at the top, was a small section of the propeller.

The vendor, who wants to stay anonymous, said: "After discovering such an important work, we wanted to ensure the integrity of the piece, so approached restoration specialists to find the best way of preserving it for generations to come.

"To our knowledge, no one had attempted to rescue a fragile work of high-profile street art like this before. As the piece had been painted on render, after several abortive attempts, the decision was made to remove it in sections by specialists."

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The work has been authenticated and valued by the experts at Anderson & Garland Auctioneers of Newcastle and will be offered for sale as part of the Spring Fine Art Auction on March 20, 2024. 

Fred Wyrley-Birch, Director, Anderson & Garland Auctioneers, said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer another original and unique work by the illusive artist Banksy.

"With our recent success in selling his ‘Merrivale Stable’, which fetched £1,000,000 (inc fees), we are uniquely placed to bring this highly desirable piece to market. The work carries an auction estimate of £500,000-£700,000