Banksy's Auction of Rare Rat Prints for Ukraine Targeted by "Hostile Attacks from Russia"

Last December, Banksy announced the sale of 50 rare rat screen prints to raise funds for Ukraine. The project was launched in partnership with the Legacy of War Foundation where Banksy announced the project on Instagram.

The pieces, which depicted a white rat scratching out the word “FRAGILE” on what appears to be a cardboard box, were expected to be signed and numbered and sold for £5,000 GBP. With each sale, the funds will go to purchasing vehicles to evacuate the citizens of Ukraine from the war-torn country, while also providing heating to communities facing a harsh and difficult winter. However, with the registrations, the charity website alerted fans that they currently need more time to look over the number of registrations. In a statement from the website, the organization said,

“We are currently sifting through the registered entries and will notify successful applicants shortly. Thank you for your support. The site received over one million requests (and 3,500 hostile attacks from Russian IP addresses), so we would appreciate your patience at this time.”

Banksy previously explained why he wanted to give Ukraine a helping hand, “In Ukraine, I saw a Legacy of War team sweep in and provide medical attention, heaters, fresh water and a friendly face to some very desperate people in a bombed-out building. They also lent me one of their ambulances to work from, which turned out to be extremely useful when an angry babushka found me painting on her building and called the police.” Just in November, Banksy confirmed that he did create seven new murals in Ukraine.

In other art news, David Hockney is presenting his latest iPad Paintings at Pace New York.