No one can crack this code at CIA headquarters. Now, the answer is for sale
By Kelsey Ables
When artist Jim Sanborn talks about Kryptos, his sculpture at the CIA headquarters, and the famously unsolved secret code engraved in its copper panels, he sounds as if he’s talking about espionage, not art. The piece has “destroyed marriages”, he claims. It’s driven “unwanted guests” to his doorstep. Some aspiring code crackers have even “threatened my life”, Sanborn says, prompting the artist to outfit his home with panic buttons, motion sensors and cameras.
But after 35 years’ guarding the work’s secrets and dealing with the drama that comes with it, Sanborn is ready to hand over the code. In November, he plans to auction the coveted solution to the final passage, known as K4, at a sale coinciding with his 80th birthday.
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