Banksy graffiti work pulled from US sale: council

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

This is an undated image of an art work from British artist Banksy made available by Haringey Council Wednesday Feb. 20, 2013. AP Photo/Haringey Council

Artwork by British graffiti artist Banksy which appeared listed for auction in the US after disappearing from a London wall earlier this month has been withdrawn from sale, a council official said Sunday.

The mural is of a boy making Union Jack bunting on a sewing machine, an apparent comment on sweat-shop labour.

It first appeared last May on the wall of a north London outlet of thrift store Poundland shortly before the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

After going missing, it reappeared last week for sale at an auction house in Miami, and had been expected to fetch up to 450,000 ($682,000, 517,000 euros) before the lot was apparently pulled.

Haringey Council, which encompasses the area of Wood Green where the store is located, said it had learned that the sale had been halted at the last minute.

Paying tribute to those who had campaigned against its sale, council leader Claire Kober called their actions "a true credit to the community." They had, she said, "helped to stop the sale of this artwork from going ahead".

A new mural has since appeared on the wall from where the Banksy work was removed.