Banksy paintings raise £2.2 million at auction for Bethlehem hospital

The trio of paintings, entitled 'Mediterranean Sea View 2017', originally hung in Banksy's Walled Off Hotel

Proceeds from Banksy's 'Mediterranean Sea View 2017' will benefit the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation hospital. Getty Images

A trio of Banksy paintings sold for more than £2.2m (Dh10.4m) at an auction in London, with the proceeds donated to a Bethlehem hospital.

The work, entitled Mediterranean Sea View 2017, went under the hammer on Tuesday at Sotheby's after it was personally donated by the elusive British artist.

The triptych – a work of art divided into three sections – was initially estimated to fetch £1.2 million at auction, but went for £1 million above the guide price at final hammer.

The work originally hung at The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, a hotel established by the artist located metres away from the West Bank barrier.

While at first glance the work seems to depict a classic landscape, the trio of paintings actually contain a powerful, politically charged message. Closer inspection reveals stormy cliffs and crashing seas littered with bright orange lifejackets and buoys, washed ashore with no survivors in sight.

They are perceived as a reaction to Europe's migrant crisis, in which hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and conflict have tried to reach the continent on dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean and Aegean seas over the past decade.

Proceeds from the sale will go towards building a new acute stroke unit and children’s rehabilitation equipment for Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation hospital in Bethlehem.

The Sotheby's sale also included one of only three self-portraits by Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn left in private hands, as well as a rare Pablo Picasso drawing of his muse, Marie-Therese Walter.

Scroll through the gallery below for a look at Banksy's work in Gaza and the West Bank:

A graffiti by British street artist Banksy showing a dove with a bulletproof vest is seen in the Israeli occupied West Bank town of Bethlehem on March 15, 2017. AFP

Two men are sitting in front of a famous graffiti of British street artist Banksy, painted on a wall of a gas station in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 16, 2015. AFP

A Palestinian boy walks past a Banksy mural of children using an Israeli army watch tower as a swing ride in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, as seen on April 10, 2015. EPA

'The Flower Thrower', arguably one of the most famous works by Banksy, depicts a masked Palestinian man throwing a bouquet of flowers, seen in Bethlehem on December 12, 2018. EPA

Palestinians ride a motorcycle past words thought to be painted by British street artist Banksy on the wall of destroyed homes in Beit Hanoun town in northern Gaza. Pictured on April 10, 2015. EPA

A work by Banksy, seen in Bethlehem in December 2007. The stencilled work has been interpreted to depict a small girl in a dress, thought to be Palestinian, frisking an Israeli soldier. EPA

An armed Palestinian policeman stands before 'The Armoured Dove', a graffiti painting by Banksy depicting a peace dove wearing a flak jacket with crosshairs on the bird's chest, painted on a wall at the entrance to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, as photographed on January 6, 2019. EPA

Banksy opened The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem in 2017. EPA

A view through a window inside The Walled Off Hotel. EPA

A room at The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem with a work by Bansky, depicting an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian protester during a pillow fight. EPA

A graffiti mural of a kitten by Banksy, on the wall of the Al Shimbari family's home, which was damaged during the 2014 conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Seen on February 27, 2015. EPA

'Scar of Bethlehem' is a modified nativity set that Banksy created for the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem in December 2019 . EPA

A rumoured work by Banksy, depicting a camel with human figures climbing up and down its legs. Seen on December 4, 2007. EPA

A stencilled work by Banksy, showing an Israeli soldier asking a donkey for its identity card, seen on December 4, 2006. EPA

A mural by Banksy in Beit Hanoun, as seen in February 2015, depicts a bent figure wearing a head scarf, painted on the door of a home destroyed by the Israeli military in 2014. EPA

Graffiti thought to be by Banksy, as seen in December 2007 in Bethlehem. The white donkey has what appears to be a small Palestinian village on its bac,k and the black donkey carries on its back what appears to be a modern Israeli town. The work was not signed by Banksy. EPA

Banksy street art on the entrance to the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, as seen on April 18, 2019. EPA

This stencil of a tank being towed away on the wall of a house on a main street in Bethlehem is credited to Banksy, but not signed, as seen December 4, 2007. EPA