Vermin vs. Pest Control

Cult graffiti artist Banksy has refused to authenticate five works up for auction this weekend in London. Additionally, Pest Control, the organization tasked with authenticating the anonymous artist's works, said it would not approve any street pieces removed from their original setting, partly to crack down on fakes and partly to protect the original concept.

Banksy's work has become so valuable that several street pieces were salvaged, including a painting attributed to him on a wall in London that fetched $383,000 in an online sale. The cost of removing the wall and replacing it was not included.

Lyon & Turnbull said that the auction would go ahead with the sale of five street pieces even without official verification, adding that it had no doubts the pieces on offer were original. On its website, Pest Control said that since its creation in January, 89 street pieces and 137 screen prints attributed to Banksy have turned out to be false, potentially involving millions of pounds of losses for the buyers.

"Pest Control does not authenticate street pieces because Banksy prefers street work to remain in situ and building owners tend to become irate when their doors go missing because of a stencil," they said. "He would encourage anyone wanting to purchase one of his images to do so with extreme caution, but does point out that many copies are superior in quality to the originals."

Auctioneers said the five works up for sale had been authenticated by the unauthorized organization Vermin. "They are Banksy's, they are in all the literature and everything. And Vermin's authentication service gives all the provenance for each piece listed as clear as day. The market will decide."