Banksy artwork sells for almost $10 million at auction

LONDON (AP) - Banksy's playful take on a famous Impressionist painting has sold at auction for 7.6 million pounds ($9.8 million), the second-highest price ever paid for a work by the British street artist.

'œShow Me the Monet'ť sold to an unidentified bidder at Sotheby's in London on Wednesday evening, surpassing its upper pre-sale estimate of 5 million pounds.

In the 2005 work, Banksy added abandoned shopping carts and an orange traffic cone to Claude Monet's image of water lilies in his garden at Giverny.

Alex Branczik, Sotheby's European head of contemporary art, said the work was one of the 'œstrongest and most iconic'ť Banksy works to appear at auction.

Banksy, whose real name has never been officially confirmed, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world's best-known artists.

Another Banksy work, 'œDevolved Parliament,'ť sold last year at Sotheby's in London for 9.9 million pounds. Earlier this month, his graffiti-style piece 'œForgive Us Our Trespassing'ť sold for $8.3 million at Sotheby's in Hong Kong.