{"id":68400,"date":"2025-07-16T23:32:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T23:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/68400\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T23:32:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T23:32:08","slug":"banksy-new-orleans-graffiti-painting-cut-out-and-trucked-off-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/68400\/","title":{"rendered":"Banksy New Orleans graffiti painting cut out and trucked off | Arts"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2008, a secretive graffiti painter left extremely valuable artwork scattered around New Orleans<\/a>. Banksy, the world-renowned British graffiti master, painted more than a dozen mini-murals, presumably intended to raise spirits and attract art-loving tourists during the city’s post-Hurricane Katrina recovery.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday morning, one of those paintings was cut from the wall of an antique fire house at 514 Jackson Ave. and hauled away by the building\u2019s owner. It was the last visible Banksy that remained in its original location. All others have been painted over, demolished or removed from the sites where they were painted.<\/p>\n

The owner, Jaohn Orgon, says he hopes to have the painting restored in time to exhibit it for the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans Aug. 29, 2005.<\/p>\n

In 2008, the fire house in the 500 block of Jackson belonged to restaurateur Greg Surrey and his then-business partner Orgon. Surrey said he was introduced to Banksy at the time and granted the internationally acclaimed artist permission to paint on the property.<\/p>\n

\"NO.banksy.071725\"<\/p>\n

In April the process had begun to remove a 2008 painting by the British graffiti superstar Banksy from the wall of of a 19th-century fire station on Jackson Avenue<\/p>\n

(Photo by Doug MacCash,NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)<\/p>\n

In 2008, Orgon said, he saw that a scaffold wrapped in tarp had been erected on the side of the 19th-century brick structure, where the artist could work without being seen. He may have even laid eyes on the world\u2019s most famous, yet least-seen artist. But at the time, he admits, he didn\u2019t even know who Banksy was.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-tall, stencil-style design that Banksy produced depicted a stick figure pleading for mercy as it is painted over by New Orleans\u2019 legendary graffiti foe, the late Fred \u201cThe Gray Ghost\u201d Radtke<\/a>. The painting \u2013 which even then might have sold for hundreds of thousands at auction \u2013 was protected by a fence.<\/p>\n

Despite the barrier, a vandal attempted to splash the artwork with black paint. Happily, he or she missed, said Orgon, who is now sole owner of the property.<\/p>\n

\"NO.banksy.071725\"<\/p>\n

On July 15, a work by renowned English graffiti artist Banksy was cut from the wall of a historic fire station in the Irish Channel neighborhood and trucked away by the owner of the property<\/p>\n

(Photo by Carlos Fundora)<\/p>\n

The painting was subsequently covered with a transparent plastic panel that prevented further vandalism.<\/p>\n

Over the past 17 years, the effect of weather and Southern sunlight has faded the paint. However, Orgon said, the artwork is \u201cin great shape for being so old and whatnot.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few months ago, when Orgon offered the historic property for sale, he began the process of removing the artwork and the estimated 5,000-pound section of brick and mortar that holds it. Photos taken on Tuesday morning show the rectangular portion of the wall, cradled in a steel frame, being transported to a flatbed truck by a heavy-duty forklift.<\/p>\n

Orgon’s goal is to preserve and show the painting, he said. \u201cAny restoration,\u201d he said, will be \u201cdone appropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hopes to find a New Orleans museum willing to put the heavyweight artwork on display in time for the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina at the end of August, he said.<\/p>\n

\"NO.banksy.071725\"<\/p>\n

On July 15, a work by renowned English graffiti artist Banksy was cut from the wall of a historic fire station in the Irish Channel neighborhood and trucked away by the owner of the property<\/p>\n

(Photo by Carlos Fundora)<\/p>\n

Banksy\u2019s small mural of the Gray Ghost with a stick figure is the fifth Banksy to be salvaged from New Orleans architecture for preservation.<\/p>\n

Banksy\u2019s so-called \u201cLooters\u201d<\/a> and \u201cChild on a Swing\u201d are on display in the lobby of the International House Hotel at 221 Camp St.<\/p>\n

Banksy\u2019s version of cartoon character Bart Simpson<\/a> can be seen at the Habana Outpost restaurant at 1040 Esplanade Ave.<\/p>\n

In February 2024,\u00a0Banksy\u2019s painting of the Gray Ghost<\/a> on the corner of Clio and Carondelet streets was removed for restoration.<\/p>\n

In April 2024, Banksy\u2019s \u201cUmbrella Girl\u201d<\/a> was also removed from its location at the corner of Kerlerec and North Rampart streets for restoration.<\/p>\n

True to form, Anna Sorokin looked like a million bucks on Friday night in New Orleans, from her scarlet lipstick down to her ankle monitor. So\u2026<\/p>\n

Fred Radtke, who conducted a quarter-century-long fight against graffiti in New Orleans, died on Aug. 24 of natural causes, according to a\u00a0dea\u2026<\/p>\n

Saturday brought bad news for New Orleans art lovers. Sometime in the night, someone had badly marred the \u201cUmbrella Girl,\u201d a painting by the B\u2026<\/p>\n

It was just 30 days after Hurricane Katrina marauded across New Orleans when artist Jeffrey Holmes and his then-wife Andrea Garland hauled the\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2008, a secretive graffiti painter left extremely valuable artwork scattered around New Orleans. Banksy, the world-renowned British…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":68401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,1033,171,12351,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-68400","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-design","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-hardwall","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114865526893104620","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}