Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus to auction off rare Banksy painting

Blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus will auction off a rare Banksy painting he has owned for over a decade next momth.

The street art icon’s Crude Oil (Vettriano) was acquired by Hoppus and his wife Skye in 2011. It will go on public view at Sotheby’s New York from today (February 18) through to Thursday (February 20), before heading to London where it will go under the hammer next month.

The painting is Banksy’s re-imagining of Jack Vettriano’s The Singing Butler and features a couple dancing on a windswept beech. But in a twist typical of the artist, environmental issues and capitalism are given a skewering as a sinking oil liner and two men in hazmat suits wheel a barrel of toxic waste in the background.

Appropriately, then, a portion of the funds will go towards to the California Fire Foundation in the wake of the wildfires that have devastated the state. The Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Cedars Sinai Haematology Oncology Research will also benefit from the sale.

“We loved this painting since the moment we saw it. Unmistakably Banksy, but different. We bought it because we loved it,” said Hoppus.

“It’s borne witness to our family over these past dozen years. It hung over the table in London where we ate breakfast and our son did his homework. It hung in our living room in Los Angeles. It’s seen laughter and tears and parties and arguments. Our son has grown up in front of it. This painting has meant so much to us and been such an amazing part of our lives, and now I’m excited for it to be out there in the world, seen by as many as possible. Go get ‘em. Godspeed.”

Mark and Skye also plan to use part of the proceeds raised from the sale to expand their art collection, but taking in works by the younger generation of artists.

Mark explained: “Coming back to punk rock, one aspect of the community I always hold dear is, if you get lucky enough to gain success, you bring your friends with you. Larger bands bring smaller bands on tour. We support one another from within. I want to take some of the money from the sale of this painting and use it to buy works from younger, upcoming artists. We were lucky enough to find ‘Crude Oil (Vettriano)’ in our lives, and it’ll help us support more art and artists. I want to be a f***ing Medici.”

Hoppus will also release his anticipated memoir, Fahrenheit-182, in April.