Chimp paintings fetch €21,000

BIDDERS went bananas yesterday, paying €21,000 for paintings by a chimpanzee named Congo which were sold alongside works by Renoir and Andy Warhol.

The three abstract pieces up for auction at Bonhams in London were painted by Congo in 1957 and were estimated to fetch between €900 and €1,200.

But hectic bidding for the pieces - which were sold as one lot - forced the price up to €21,600, including buyer’s premium. A spokesperson at Bonhams said there had been a “fantastic” amount of interest in the chimp’s artworks.