PROVENANCE Private Collection, Wellington Accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity

Morons portrays Christies auction room full of collectors bidding for a number of artworks, including one in an elaborate frame that reads, I can't believe you morons actually buy this shit. Banksy uploaded the image on his then website, following a record- breaking auction result for one of his canvases. Morons is an example of Banksy's unapologetic critiques on the extraordinarily high prices of his, and many other artists' artworks pointing a mocking finger at their buyers.

Banksy's relationship with the art dealers and auction houses is ironically notoriously controversial, which some believe is why he is so successful. The artist has expressed similarly critical opinions of the art world's commercialism through public pranks such as the famous incident in 2018 at Sotheby's auction of Girl With Balloon, ceremoniously shredded itself in front of the audience soon after the auctioneer knocked his gavel down.

It is widely thought Banksy based Morons on a famous press photograph of Christies auctioneer Charles Hindlip selling Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers on March 30, 1987 for £22m.