New Zealand
Seven Sharp

Watch: 'I feel incredibly lucky' – meet the quick-thinking Kiwi woman who bought two Banksy paintings for $60 each

November 22, 2017

The lucky New Zealanders trusted their instinct, and got a life-changing bargain for doing so.

Four years ago a Kiwi living in New York bought two canvas prints for $60 each from a stall outside Central Park, an investment that re-paid itself in spades once she found out they were original works by Banksy.

On her last day of living in New York a small art stall caught the interest of Kiwi woman Arnika Juvalta, who thought the art work on sale looked like that of the world famous street artist Banksy.

"I stopped and looked back and thought I have to go and see what's going on here.

"Then I went around the front and approached the man and said 'are these the real deal' and he looked me square in the eye and said 'yep'," she told Seven Sharp.

A little wary she decided to take the plunge, returning with the last of her American money to buy two paintings for a total of $US 120.

The next day Ms Juvalta saw a video on the official Banksy website showing her buying the paintings and confirming they were indeed the real deal.

The artist is notorious for staging social experiments, selling works worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at bargain basement prices.

"I got super excited, that funny little butterfly feeling in your tummy. Like a little kid but also nervous, apprehensive, like what am I going to do now?"

After bringing the paintings back to New Zealand Ms Juvalta and her husband Steivan decided rather than worry about insurance and having the expensive works in their home, they would sell them at auction in the UK.

"We decided to let them go and set ourselves up in another way," Ms Juvalta said.

The couple netted nearly $200,000 at auction, a 1200 per cent profit on the original outlay.

They used the money to help buy their dream property, which now features two exact replicas of the Banksy art works which helped fund it.

The Art of Banksy exhibition is coming to Auckland this summer to the Aotea Centre from January 5 to February 6.

SHARE ME

More Stories