£9.9 million chimp parliament painting smashes Banksy record

A Banksy painting depicting the British parliament populated by chimpanzees smashed the record for the mysterious British street artist on Thursday, fetching nearly £9.9 million pounds, Sotheby’s auction house said. The 2009 work entitled “Devolved Parliament” sold for £9,879,500 ($12.1 million, 11.1 million euros) following a 13-minute battle between 10 different bidders. “Record price for a Banksy painting set at auction tonight. Shame I didn’t still own it,” the artist said on his Instagram account. The previous auction record for a Banksy artwork was $1.87 million, achieved by “Keep it Spotless” at Sotheby’s New York in 2008. “Devolved Parliament” was expected to fetch £1.5 million to £2 million in Thursday’s sale. The oil painting measures 4.2 metres