<p>Banksy's playful take on a famous Impressionist painting has sold at auction for 7.6 million pounds ($9.8 million), the second-highest price ever paid for a work by the British street artist.</p>.<p>“Show Me the Monet” sold to an unidentified bidder at Sotheby's in London on Wednesday evening, surpassing its upper pre-sale estimate of 5 million pounds.</p>.<p>In the 2005 work, Banksy added abandoned shopping carts and an orange traffic cone to Claude Monet's image of water lilies in his garden at Giverny.</p>.<p>Alex Branczik, Sotheby's European head of contemporary art, said the work was one of the “strongest and most iconic” Banksy works to appear at auction.</p>.<p>Banksy, whose real name has never been officially confirmed, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world's best-known artists.</p>.<p>Another Banksy work, “Devolved Parliament,” sold last year at Sotheby's in London for 9.9 million pounds. Earlier this month, his graffiti-style piece “Forgive Us Our Trespassing” sold for $8.3 million at Sotheby's in Hong Kong.</p>
<p>Banksy's playful take on a famous Impressionist painting has sold at auction for 7.6 million pounds ($9.8 million), the second-highest price ever paid for a work by the British street artist.</p>.<p>“Show Me the Monet” sold to an unidentified bidder at Sotheby's in London on Wednesday evening, surpassing its upper pre-sale estimate of 5 million pounds.</p>.<p>In the 2005 work, Banksy added abandoned shopping carts and an orange traffic cone to Claude Monet's image of water lilies in his garden at Giverny.</p>.<p>Alex Branczik, Sotheby's European head of contemporary art, said the work was one of the “strongest and most iconic” Banksy works to appear at auction.</p>.<p>Banksy, whose real name has never been officially confirmed, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world's best-known artists.</p>.<p>Another Banksy work, “Devolved Parliament,” sold last year at Sotheby's in London for 9.9 million pounds. Earlier this month, his graffiti-style piece “Forgive Us Our Trespassing” sold for $8.3 million at Sotheby's in Hong Kong.</p>