Banksy work comes top of poll of UK’s favorite artworks

A graffiti work of a girl losing a heart-shaped balloon by notorious artist Banksy is Britain’s favorite artwork, according to a poll out Wednesday.

The “Balloon Girl” stencil painting, which appeared on the side of shop in east London in 2002, topped the shortlist of best British artworks, as voted on by 2,000 people.

The artwork was removed and sold in 2014 for around £500,000 (560,000 euros, $651,000).

John Constable’s 1821 pastoral landscape “The Hay Wain” came in second, with Jack Vettriano’s 1992 painting “The Singing Butler” coming in third.

JMW Turner’s 1839 “The Fighting Temeraire,” which depicts a boat being tugged along the Thames, came fourth in the poll, conducted for Samsung TV, while Antony Gormley’s 1998 sculpture “The Angel of the North”, which looms over a major road to the south of Newcastle, was voted fifth.

Three album covers were in the top 20, including Peter Blake’s cover for The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper”,
Hipgnosis and George Hardie’s work for Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and Jamie Reid’s “Never Mind the Bollocks” Sex Pistols sleeve.