Simon Cowell given Banksy’s £500k piece as Christmas gift

London: Simon Cowell has received a half million pound remake of a 19th century artwork as a Christmas gift, created for him by famous graffiti artist Banksy.Syco bosses asked Banksy to paint Degas’ 1874 masterpiece ‘Rehearsal Of The Ballet On Stage’, featuring Simon.

The piece showing Cowell as the ballet master was meant to be given to him as a thank you token for the success of this year’s X Factor. “Record label execs wanted something unique to give to Simon. He’s a secret art collector and loves Degas – plus he’s a huge fan of Banksy,” the Mirror quoted an insider, as saying. The source continued: “So they got Banksy to mock up one of Degas’ most famous works. In the picture, it looks like Simon’s deciding whether or not the girl has the X Factor. “He took one look at it and declared it ‘hilarious’.” “Banksy rarely does private commissions so it was a real coup by record label bosses to secure his services. They are very pleased with what he created,” the snitch added. ANI