Elizabeth Olsen, Andy Garcia attend Banksy mural auction party in LA

Hollywood actors Elizabeth Olsen, Andy Garcia, and Nestor Carbonell were among the A-list guests at a star-studded party in Los Angeles on Thursday promoting the auction of a Banksy mural – with a seven-story building attached.

The famous work of art is the city’s only native Banksy piece, painted in secret one night in 2010 while the owners of the property were away.

Jewelry designer Tarina Tarantino and her husband Alfonso Campos have been forced to sell their mid-rise art deco building after going bankrupt during the pandemic.

In court filings they estimate the downtown LA commercial property is worth $16million – but they are hoping to get at least $30million at an auction next month, suggesting the real draw for investors is the painting, not the building.

The seven-story building, located on S Broadway and W 9th St in downtown Los Angeles, is known for its Banksy mural ‘Girl on a Swing’ 

Jewelry designer Tarina Tarantino and her husband told DailyMail.com they are hoping to sell the building as art as well as real estate – for at least $30million

‘Is it a building with a Banksy or a Banksy with a building?’ Tarantino said in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.

‘We’re attempting to do something that hasn’t been done before, which is selling the building as art,’ Campos added. ‘Most people want to cut it up.’

The artsy couple’s Hollywood friends at the event included Godfather and Oceans 11 star Garcia and Bates Motel actor Carbonell, who both joked with DailyMail.com that they would by vying to place the first bid on the building.

WandaVision star Olsen also attended with musician husband Robbie Arnett. 

The actress revealed to DailyMail.com during the evening that she would not be starring in season two of Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon, despite rumors swirling about her involvement.

The mural, Girl on a Swing, depicts a large red ‘Parking’ sign with the last three letters whitewashed and a child swinging from the letter ‘A’.

Tarantino and Campos said Banksy painted the mural in 2010 while visiting LA for the premiere of his documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop.

They recounted to DailyMail.com how they almost turned down the multi-million-dollar addition to their building.

‘We were both in New York during the fashion trade show. We got a phone call from a friend of ours,’ Campos said. 

‘He said, listen, I’m with this really amazing artist who wants to do something on the side of your building. I can’t tell you, but I promise you you’re going to thank me.’

The couple had bought the property for $4million in 2007 just before the crash, and were struggling while they plowed $1.8million into its renovation – so were hesitant to allow some unknown graffiti on the historic edifice.

WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen, pictured chatting with Tarantino, attended the party with musician husband Robbie Arnett

The Godfather and Oceans 11 star Andy Garcia and Bates Motel actor Nestor Carbonell – who are both friends with the artsy couple – both joked with DailyMail.com that they would by vying to place the first bid on the building

The Thursday night party was held on the ground floor of the South Broadway 26,500 sq ft building

But after reluctantly agreeing, they returned from the East Coast to find a crowd surrounding the new Banksy mural.

‘It was almost like those Virgin Apparitions in Latin America, there were 100-200 people surrounding this wall.

‘We didn’t realize at the time the incredible gift, the impact that that mural would have, not only in our building, but also the city of LA. It’s become this destination for locals.’

Campos said once he and his wife saw the Girl on a Swing, they decided they needed to preserve it and even turned down offers in excess of $1million from Facebook for a cutout of the wall.

‘We were getting offers immediately from people in Silicon Valley, from Facebook. They were offering pretty high prices at the time,’ he said. 

‘As tempting as that was, we were looking at the crowd and we both thought no way.’

The building, located on 908-910 South Broadway, was built in 1914 from a Meyer & Holler design, the architects behind the iconic Egyptian Theater, and became an iconic movie buff landmark as the location where Harold Lloyd dangled from a clock in the 1923 silent movie Safety Last.

The property also used to house L.L. Burns’s Western Costume Company, which had a near monopoly on movie costumes during Hollywood’s silent film era.

The Thursday night party was held on the ground floor of the South Broadway 26,500 sq ft building.

One guest at the party was Banksy’s producer Daniel Salin, who has worked with the artist since 2006.

Campos, pictured with Garcia and Carbonell, said he and his wife turned down offers in excess of $1million from Facebook for a cutout of the wall after it became a local attraction 

The couple, who bought the commercial property for $4million in 2007 just before the economic crash, revealed Banksy painted the mural in secret one night in 2010 while they were out of town 

The mural, Girl on a Swing, depicts a large red ‘Parking’ sign with the last three letters whitewashed and a child swinging from the letter ‘A’ and is the city’s only native Banksy piece

‘With the success of Banksy, a lot of incredible works have disappeared for the public,’ he told DailyMail.com.

‘It is a beautiful thing that there is one left in Los Angeles. It’s a great piece, I hope it stays together.’

‘It’s always been difficult to value outdoor street pieces, but if you’ve been keeping an eye on the Banksy market in the last two or three years, it’s quadrupled.

‘I’ve seen him go from the very embryonic stage of his ideas to full completion. And there’s nobody like him.’

A smaller Banksy mural painted on an English electrical shop, Crowbar Girl, was cut out and sold for a rumored $2.4million last year.

His famous shredded artwork titled Love Is in the Bin sold for a record $25.4million at Sotheby’s in October 2021.

Holly Dunlap, former head of the Private Client Group at Sotheby’s in London, has told the New York Times the mural could be worth at least $10million on its own – but Sotheby’s has refused to sell sawn-off Banksy murals.

Garcia told DailyMail.com he believes the piece should stay put.

‘Why would you cut it out? That would be a ridiculous thing to do. It would be foolish I think. It’s iconic, the fact that it’s there. It’s not just a piece of graffiti.’

The actor and director added that he would have the first shot at buying the building, but would be hitting his friends with a low-ball.

‘I’m very good friends with Tarina and Alfonso. I’ll have the opening bid – $24.97,’ he said.