Old Masters inspire sense of respect in graffiti vandals: Dalya Alberge reports on a shopping centre's successful ploy to deter aerosol artists

PHILLIPS is to sell Leonardo's Mona Lisa, Van Gogh's Sunflowers, and Picasso's Girl with Dove - but only copies. They are among 21 of the world's most famous paintings reproduced by young artists for an anti-graffiti experiment.

They were hung in the Furlong shopping centre at Ringwood in Hampshire while it was being built two years ago to deter aerosol vandals. The theory that it would engender respect for the centre worked - the development remained graffiti-free.

They were commissioned by MEPC, the property company, which has 25 shopping centres in Britain. Five are open-air, and it is these that have been plagued by graffiti artists. At Kingsmead, in Farnborough, removing graffiti costs pounds 25,000 a year.

Chris James, deputy director of MEPC Investments, said: 'We decided to fight bad art with good art.' The art was used to cover blank hoardings which particularly inspire graffiti artists to leave their artistic signature. When some 20 shops were let, the hoardings - and the paintings - came down.

The pictures were produced by five students at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art. Geoffrey Barfoot, of Phillips, described them as 'really good copies'. Setting estimates has proved difficult. He said: 'The original Van Gogh Sunflowers went for pounds 50m . . . Perhaps Andy Elmer's Sunflowers might reach pounds 50 or pounds 500. After all, the young masters could become as valuable as the Old Masters.'

The auction takes place at the Ringwood shopping centre on 7 August and the proceeds will go to a local youth charity.

(Photograph omitted)