Devolved Parliament, a painting of the House of Commons showing MPs as chimpanzees by the British “street artist” Banksy, sold at auction at Sotheby’s in London on Thursday evening for a record £9,879,500 ($12,142,893).

The “price eclipses the previous record — $1.9 million for a collaboration with Damien Hirst, Keep it Spotless, sold in New York in 2008; and $1 million for Love is in the Bin — sold at Sotheby’s London this time last year”, the auction house announced.

The sale comes at a time when the Prime Minister Boris Johnson is preparing for a possible general election in which he will pitch “the people” against an obdurate Remainer Parliament — certainly from his point of view.

Others, including the supreme court, see it as sticking up for parliamentary democracy against an authoritarian executive.

But the painting was done not in recent days but a decade ago when it was called Question Time, the name of a flagship BBC TV programme. Parliament also has adversarial PMQs — Prime Minister’s Questions.

According to a Sotheby’s spokeswoman, Banksy’s dystopian view of the Commons, measuring 276cm by 446cm framed, “reigned supreme” at the auction, where works by many other artists were also sold.

In a statement on Thursday, Sotheby’s said: “Moments ago in London, Banksy’s derisive portrayal of The House of Commons reduced to an assembly of parliamentary primates achieved a record £9,879,500 ($12,142,893) in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction (estimated price before auction, £1.5-2 million).

“The hammer came down after thirteen minutes of competitive bidding, with ten determined collectors driving the price well beyond the previous record.

“Spanning an impressive thirteen feet, this is the largest known canvas by the anonymous street artist whose subversive practice has granted him a reputation of infamy as much as world renown.”

“Banksy first unveiled the painting, then titled Question Time, a decade ago as part of his ground-breaking Banksy vs Bristol Museum exhibition, which famously drew over 300,000 visitors to become one of the world’s top ten most-visited shows of 2019. The painting has since been reworked by the artist and more recently retitled. Once glowing, the Commons’ lamps have been snuffed-out by Banksy, while the upturned banana of an ape in the foreground now faces downwards; in addition to these and other subtle adjustments, the painting was also given a new name: Devolved Parliament.”

Boris might have called it, The Return of a Prorogued Parliament.

Sotheby’s added: “More recently, the painting returned to the spotlight once again for another showing in Bristol to mark the date originally intended for ‘Brexit Day’, March 29 2019. The artist took to Instagram at the time to explain, ‘I made this ten years ago. Bristol museum have just put it back on display to mark Brexit day.’ ”

Rather like the Scarlet Pimpernel, many seek the elusive Banksy here, there and everywhere.

In Art News, Caroline Goldstein, wrote a piece to mark the occasion, “Banksy Is Giving His Painting of Chimpanzees Overrunning Parliament a special appearance to mark ‘Brexit Day’.”

The artist was quoted as telling a joke: “You paint 100 chimpanzees and they still call you a guerrilla artist.”

Goldstein commented: “Potent and poignant, bold and brash, Banksy’s monumental oil painting of the House of Commons offers a premonitory insight into the increasingly tumultuous face of politics in contemporary Britain.

“This is the largest known canvas by the anonymous street artist whose subversive practice has granted him a reputation of infamy as much as world renown. Bitingly satirical in nature, the present painting depicts the inner sanctum of British politics; yet instead of debating MPs, the House of Commons is here filled with chimpanzees in a scene of mayhem and madness.”

The inhabitants of the Lok Sabha will no doubt be relieved that Banksy has so far not turned his attention to Indian politics.