Banksy’s Grim Reaper Finds New Permanent Home At Bristol Museum

Banksy’s The Grim Reaper has found a permanent home following a programme of restoration. The iconic mural which was painted on the bottom of an abandoned boat, will now be exhibited at Bristol’s M-Shed museum.The mural will be permanently on view at the museum from 3 June.

The Thekla, was home to a nightclub and the well known artwork was visible just above the waterline on its rusting steel hull. Uncertainty for the future of the artwork was highlighted and the painting was removed last August while the boat was in dry dock, last August. ‘The Grim Reaper’ was quietly loaned to the Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives on a long-term basis. This is the same Museum that mounted the most comprehensive Banksy exhibition in 2011.

Ray Barnett, head of collections and archives at Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives, said he was “very pleased” to have preserved the work of art. “The Thekla and its associated art has been an established part of the Bristol docks for a long time,” he added. “Many Bristolians will be able to relate to the image but also, by association, to the contribution the Thekla has made to the city’s night life.”

George Akins of DHP Family, which has owned the Thekla since 2006, said its aim was to preserve the art “before it deteriorated too much”.

Banksy is a legendary graffiti artist. His work typically includes satirical social and political commentary, and ranges from murals to sculpture and installation, often playing with the contextual aspects of the work. The artist’s first solo show was held in 2002 at Los Angeles’ 33 1/3 Gallery, and in 2003 he was commissioned to design to cover of Blur’s ThinkTank. Today, Banksy’s work appears internationally; most notably, he painted nine sardonic images on the Palestinian side of the West Bank barrier. In Summer 2009, Banksy took over the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery with an exhibition attracting over 300,000 visitors and hour-long queues all the way down the road. 

Banksy’s Grim Reaper Finds New Permanent Home At Bristol Museum

Banksy’s The Grim Reaper has found a permanent home following a programme of restoration. The iconic mural which was painted on the bottom of an abandoned boat, will now be exhibited at Bristol’s M-Shed museum.The mural will be permanently on view at the museum from 3 June.

The Thekla, was home to a nightclub and the well known artwork was visible just above the waterline on its rusting steel hull. Uncertainty for the future of the artwork was highlighted and the painting was removed last August while the boat was in dry dock, last August. ‘The Grim Reaper’ was quietly loaned to the Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives on a long-term basis. This is the same Museum that mounted the most comprehensive Banksy exhibition in 2011.

Ray Barnett, head of collections and archives at Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives, said he was “very pleased” to have preserved the work of art. “The Thekla and its associated art has been an established part of the Bristol docks for a long time,” he added. “Many Bristolians will be able to relate to the image but also, by association, to the contribution the Thekla has made to the city’s night life.”

George Akins of DHP Family, which has owned the Thekla since 2006, said its aim was to preserve the art “before it deteriorated too much”.

Banksy is a legendary graffiti artist. His work typically includes satirical social and political commentary, and ranges from murals to sculpture and installation, often playing with the contextual aspects of the work. The artist’s first solo show was held in 2002 at Los Angeles’ 33 1/3 Gallery, and in 2003 he was commissioned to design to cover of Blur’s ThinkTank. Today, Banksy’s work appears internationally; most notably, he painted nine sardonic images on the Palestinian side of the West Bank barrier. In Summer 2009, Banksy took over the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery with an exhibition attracting over 300,000 visitors and hour-long queues all the way down the road. 

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