Where’s the Value?

It’s not that unusual for a painting by a famous artist to go for over a million dollars at Sotheby’s in London. It is very unusual that, as soon as the deal is done, the painting immediately “self-destructs,” a paper shredder going to work turning the painting into ribbons.

That’s what happened in 2018 when a painting of a young girl releasing a red heart-shaped balloon by the secretive street artist Banksy was auctioned off for $1.4 million. As…