A RARE Banksy painting reimagining the work of the late Scottish painter Jack Vettriano has sold at auction for £4.3 million ($5.4 million).
Crude Oil (Vettriano) was acquired by Blink 182 bassist Mark Hoppus in 2011 and sold to a private collector at Sotheby's in London on Tuesday evening.
The sale comes days after Vettriano passed away at the age of 73 in France.
The work was initially projected to fetch between £3m and £5m in the sale.
It depicts the famous elegant couple dancing on a storm-swept beach accompanied by their butler, as does the original.
However in Banksy's image, two men dressed in yellow protective suits can be seen with a barrel of oil on the sand to the left of the couple and a ship on the horizon.
The entirely hand-painted work, created using oil and spray paints, was first exhibited in 2005.
It was first placed in a disused shop window in Notting Hill in full view of passers-by.
Vettriano, who was born Jack Hoggan on November 17, 1951, in Methil, Fife, was found in his apartment in Nice on Saturday, his publicist said on Monday.
It is understood there are no suspicious circumstances around the 73-year-old’s death.
The self-taught artist drew inspiration from works at Kirkcaldy Galleries, studying paintings from artists such as Samuel Peploe and William McTaggart so intently that he feared arousing the suspicions of gallery staff.
His breakthrough came in 1998 when he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy’s annual show and both sold on the first day, inspiring him to become a full-time artist.
