Banksy’s famous image of a girl letting go of a heart-shaped balloon has been voted the nation’s favourite artwork in a new poll.
The artwork, which Justin Bieber loves so much that he got a tattoo of it, originally appeared on a wall in East London in 2002. It beat stiff competition from big names such as Turner and Constable to come top of the list.
Constable’s 1821 landscape painting The Hay Wain was in second place, with Jack Vettriano’s ubiquitous 1992 painting The Singing Butler in second place. The top five was completed by Turner’s 1839 work The Fighting Temeraire and Antony Gormley’s 1998 Angel of the North sculpture.
The poll comprises the vote of 2,000 people, based on a list drawn up by The Frame National Art Audit. It marks the launch of a new Samsung TV that is preloaded with different artworks, allowing it to become a piece of art when not being used as a television.
The rest of the top ten included two album covers: Peter Blake’s Sergeant Pepper album cover for The Beatles, and Hipgnosis and George Hardie’s Dark Side of the Moon design for Pink Floyd. Also featured were LS Lowry’s Going to the Match, John William Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott and George Stubbs’ Mares and Foals.
The full list of the nation’s favourite artworks is as follows:
1. Banksy; Balloon Girl
2. John Constable; The Hay Wain
3. Jack Vettriano; The Singing Butler
4. JMW Turner; The Fighting Temeraire
5. Antony Gormley; The Angel of the North
6. L S Lowry; Going to the Match
7. John William Waterhouse; The Lady of Shalott
8. Peter Blake; Sgt Pepper album cover
9. Hipgnosis and George Hardie; Dark Side of the Moon album cover
10. George Stubbs; Mares and Foals
11. Thomas Gainsborough; Mr and Mrs Andrews
12. John Everett Millais; Ophelia
13. Andy Goldsworthy; Balanced Rock Misty
14. David Hockney; A Bigger Splash
15. Bridget Riley; Movement in Squares
16. Anish Kapoor; ArcelorMittal Orbit
17. Stik; A Couple Hold Hands in the Street
18. Maggi Hambling; Scallop
19. Henry Moore; Reclining Figure
20. Jamie Reid; Never Mind the Bollocks album cover
Are you a budding artist? Enter the Evening Standard Contemporary Art Prize in association with Hiscox and you could win £10,000. Visit standard.co.uk/artprize
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