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An iconic artwork by the elusive street artist Banksy is now on display in Lower Manhattan, and you've got until May 21 to go see it.
The 7,500-pound piece, titled "Battle to Survive a Broken Heart," features a bandaged heart-shaped balloon. Banksy created the artwork during 2013 in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood. It's the only known piece that the enigmatic artist came back and retouched. Find it in the The Winter Garden at Brookfield Place at 230 Vesey Street.
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The tagged wall has been in a climate-controlled warehouse in Long Island City since 2014—until now. It is on public display until it is auctioned by Guernsey's on May 21, with a portion of the sale supporting The American Heart Association.
The artwork has a particularly interesting origin story.
In the fall of 2013, 59-year-old Vassilios Georgiadis offered helpful advice to a passing van driver. That van driver turned out to be Banksy, who returned in the middle of the night to create the floating Mylar balloon mural on Georgiadis' warehouse wall.
Shortly after its creation, rival artist "Omar NYC" defaced the piece by spray-painting over the heart and scrawling his own name in front of a live crowd. Countering that—and the only time he has ever been known to re-work his art—Banksy revisited the wall at the corner of King and Van Brunt streets and embellished it further. Eventually, the art-covered section of the wall was excised from the warehouse and kept in storage.
It's the only known piece that the enigmatic artist came back and retouched.
Georgiadis sadly passed away from heart disease just a few years later. Honoring his memory, his family is generously donating a significant portion of the auction's proceeds to the American Heart Association.
"This piece is obviously an iconic representation of the battle to survive a broken heart. It's an uplifting visual poem to that most fragile of human emotions that seem to move within us as if on a soft breeze," an audio guide at banksy.co.uk explains.
It's an uplifting visual poem to that most fragile of human emotions that seem to move within us.
If you want to watch the auction—or bid in it—add it to your calendar: it'll be held live on location in The Winter Garden at Brookfield Place and online via LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Proceeds will be divided between the Greek American family that owned the warehouse and the American Heart Association.
"To me this powerful artwork is more than just street art—it's a symbol of the millions of lives impacted by heart disease, our nation's leading cause of death," Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the American Heart Association, said in an official statement. "As we continue our diligent and dedicated work to improve health for everyone, everywhere we appreciate the support and generosity of the Georgiadis family. This donation will fund life-saving research, help us advocate for healthier communities and improve patient care."