Banksy Alters Painting for Charity; Now at $220K

The secretive graffiti artist Banksy is at it again. After buying a painting of a pastoral scene for $50, Banksy donated it back to the New York City thrift shop where he bought it yesterday—but only after reworking it by adding a Nazi soldier to the scene. The 23rd Street Housing Works store is auctioning the painting. By this posting, bidding had reached $220,000. The auction ends tomorrow and will benefit Housing Works' homelessness and AIDS initiatives. As he does with all his works, Banksy posted the image on his website. He titled it "The banality of the banality of evil." (More Banksy stories.)