Valued at between $760,000 and $1m, the street artist's work The Kaws Album (2005) scooped an incredible $14,767m (100m HKD) - fees included - at the "NIGOLDENEYE® Vol. 1 " sale held by Sotheby's on April 1 in Hong Kong.
The record for the American artist (b.1974) had been beaten several times over in the same evening last November, finally settling at $2.7m. This new record was a huge leap, far from the $1.4m attained by Banksy's Girl with Balloon, frequently featured in the media.
KAWS, The Kaws Album, signed, titled and dated 05 on the reverse | acrylic on canvas, 101.6 by 101.6 cm © Sotheby's
The painting was on offer at the collection sale of Nigo, a street-wear entrepreneur who has collaborated with artists including Futura, Stash and KAWS, whom Nigo met in Japan in 1996.
The 101.6x101.6cm work was commissioned by NIGO® in 2005: "THE KAWS ALBUM is an appropriation of an appropriation – KAWS’s take on The Simpson’s The Yellow Album, which was itself a parody of The Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band".
