BANKSY (born 1974?, Bristol?, England) is an anonymous British graffiti artist known for his acerbic and antiauthoritarian art, often done in public places. Although he is particularly known for his stenciled art featuring policemen and rats, over the years he has extended his practice to include installation and performance. Banksy’s art often appears unexpectedly, and it typically causes a flurry of media attention. He generally claims the work on social media after it has been spotted. BANKSY broke all auction records in 2021. He joined the Top 10 of the most sold artists together with Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso.

Introduction

Above all enigmatic, Banksy is one of the most controversial street artists in the world who has created a subculture unto himself. His politically charged works have left an indelible mark on cities across the globe, sparking alternative perspectives and inspiring a veritable artistic revolution.

Despite over three decades on the international graffiti scene, Banksy’s identity remains a well-guarded secret. Starting as an admirer of Parisian graffiti artist Blek Le Rat, Banksy honed his distinct style within the DryBreadZ Crew in Bristol, England before partnering with the notable artist Inkie. His graffiti career nearly met its end at the hands of the police, leading him to discover the efficiency of stenciling, which became his signature organizing conceit formally. Banksy’s art often features multi-layered stencils combined with existing urban elements like street signs and fire hydrants, creating powerful, and often provocative, public installations with satirical undertones. Thematically, Banksy uses his art to communicate anti-war, anti-capitalist, or anti-establishment messages with subjects commonly consisting of children, the elderly, policemen, soldiers, apes, and, of course, rats.

By the early 2000s, Banksy had moved from Bristol to London, gaining notoriety both nationally and internationally. His artistic journey even took him to Palestine, where he left a lasting mark on the West Bank Wall with iconic images like Love is in the Air (2003). Simultaneously, his silkscreen prints and stencil paintings shattered records at various prestigious auction houses. Banksy’s true identity remains a subject of much debate and conjecture, enhancing the intrigue around his art. While his persona is clouded in mystery, Banksy is generally assumed to have been born in the mid-1970s. Over the last two decades, a range of outlets and experts have tried to determine who Banksy really is. Among the most common claims are: Robin Gunningham from Bristol; Robert Del Naja from the trip hop group Massive Attack; Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan; and Billy Gannon, a local councillor from Pembrokeshire in South Wales. The iconoclastic nature of Banksy’s work and his longstanding anonymity have created what journalist Max Foster termed the “Banksy Effect,” through which interest in street art has risen generally everywhere.

During the course of his clandestine career, Banksy has orchestrated thought-provoking spectacles, such as his New York residency, Better Out Than In (2013), where he sold original paintings in Central Park for $60. In 2015, he opened Dismaland, a fully functional, dystopian theme park in Somerset, England, and designed the Walled Off Hotel in 2017 in Bethlehem, both of which drew widespread attention. Banksy’s complex relationship with tourism has led to both support and criticism. In a famous incident, Banksy’s Girl with Balloon (2006) partially self-destructed at a Sotheby’s auction in 2018 by virtue of a mechanical paper shredder that was concealed within an ornate frame. Attendees at the auction, and the art-following public, expressed a mixture of shock and amusement. This work was later renamed Love is in the Bin (2018) and sold at Sotheby’s in 2021 for £18.6 million ($23.1 million). In 2017, Banksy donated a series of paintings titled Mediterranean Sea View to raise funds for a Bethlehem hospital, highlighting the European migrant crisis. His artwork Venice in Oil aimed to call attention to the negative impact of mass tourism on Venice at the 2019 Biennale. Banksy’s painting Devolved Parliament (2009), depicting the British House of Commons overrun by apes, sold for £9.9 million ($12.3 million) at Sotheby’s in 2019. A year later, his reinterpretation of Monet’s water lilies, Show Me The Monet (2005), sold for £7.5 million ($9.3 million), emphasizing society’s wasteful consumerism.

Over the years, Banksy’s work has been featured in occasional exhibitions at assorted smaller or alternative galleries and museums. This is not by accident since Banksy uses the outside world as his primary staging ground. In 2010, Banksy directed a documentary entitled Exit Through the Gift Shop, which blends fact and fiction to highlight the exploits of Banksy, Thierry Guetta (a.k.a., Mr. Brainwash), Shepard Fairey, Invader, and other street artists. Perhaps owing to Banksy’s lingering anonymity, his outsized fame, and the pervasive yet evanescent nature of his oeuvre, an independent organization, GTP Exhibitions, recently assumed the onus of curating a significant, but by no means comprehensive, traveling exhibition of Banksy works owned by private collectors in The Art of Banksy. All works have been certified by Pest Control, Banksy’s official authenticator, despite the show not having been authorized by Banksy himself.

Artist Website

Banksy Explained

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PART I: SUMMARY

Auction Market Overview

2025 AUCTION STATISTICS
(Originals only)
Turnover: USD 13,015,178
+23.1% vs. 2024
# Lots sold: 17
Sell-Through Rate: 94%

MARKET SEGMENTATION
London (57.7%) / New-York (27.2%) / EMEA (14.1%)

TOP LOT AT AUCTION
USD 25,457,340

Auction Summary

2025 Auction Highlights

17 lots sold at auction in 2025 for a total turnover of USD 13,015,178. With 1 lot failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 94%. The highest price has been achieved by Crude Oil (Vettriano), an iconic Crude Oil painting dated 2005 that sold at Sotheby’s in London, on 4 March 2025, for GBP 4,260,000 (USD 5,452,800).

2025 Top 3 Lots

3 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 9,508,800, representing 73% of the total turnover of 2025.

2024 Auction Highlights

9 lots sold at auction in 2024 for a total turnover of USD 10,571,307. With 4 lots failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 69%. The highest price was achieved by The Leopard and Lamb, a painting dated 2016, that sold at Phillips in Hong-Kong on 31 May 2024 for HKD 36,750,000 (USD 4,704,903).

2024 Top 3 Lots

4 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a total turnover of USD 8,752,613, representing 82.8% of the total turnover for 2024.

2023 Auction Highlights

12 lots sold at auction in 2023 for a total turnover of USD 22,687,315. With 4 lots unsold, the sell-through rate is 75%. The highest price was achieved at Phillips in New-York on 17 May 2023 with Banksy’s homage to Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksquiat, Boy and Dog in Stop and Search,dated 2018, sold for USD 9,724,500.

2023 Top 3 Lots

6 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 20,520,352, representing 90.5% of the total turnover for 2023.

2022 Auction Highlights

20 lots sold at auction in 2022 for a total turnover of USD 37,967,276. With 5 lots failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 80%. The highest price has been achieved at Sotheby’s in Hong-Kong on 27 April 2022, when an iteration of Love Is In The Air, dated 2006 sold for HKD 51,273,000 (USD 6,508,768).

2022 Top 3 Lots

9 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, for a cumulative turnover of USD 30,925,373, contributing 81.4% to the total turnover for 2022.

2021 Auction Highlights

36 lots sold at auction in 2021 for a total turnover of USD 142,468,831. 2021 was an absolute record year for Banksy with no less than 4 new auction records for the artist. With 5 lots failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 88%. The highest price was achieved by Love In The Bin, the result of a spectacular art performance viewed by millions of collectors worldwide two years before, showcasing a Girl with Balloon being shredded after it was just acquired at Sotheby’s.

2021 Top 5 Lots

21 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 134,840,406, representing 94.6% of the total turnover for 2021.

Top Lots

PLEASE CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ACCESS THE CATALOGUE ENTRY

#1. Love Is In The Bin, 2018

Sotheby’s London: 14 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
GBP 18,582,000 / USD 25,457,340

Love is in the Bin | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love Is In The Bin, 2018
Spray paint and acrylic on canvas mounted on board, framed by the artist
Decommissioned, remote controlled shredding mechanism remains in the frame.
142x78x18 cm (60 x 30.9 x 7 inches)

#2. Game Changer, 2020

Christie’s London: 22 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
GBP 16,758,000 / USD 23,114,482

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Game Changer, 2020
Oil on canvas
91×91 cm (35.9 x 35.9 inches)

#3. Sunflowers from Petrol Station, 2005

Christie’s New-York: 8 November 2021
Estimated: USD 12,000,000 – 18,000,000
USD 14,558,000

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Sunflowers from Petrol Station, 2005
Oil on canvas, in artist’s frame
102.6 x 87.5 cm (40.6 x 34.4 inches)

#4. Love is in the Air, 2005

Sotheby’s New-York: 12 May 2021
Estimated: USD 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
USD 12,903,000

Love is in the Air | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2005
Oil and spray paint on canvas
90×90 cm (35.4 x 36.4 inches)

#5. Devolved Parliament, 2009

BANKSY
Devolved Parliament, 2009
Oil on canvas
250×420 cm (98.4 x 165.4 inches)
Signed; signed, dated 09 on the reverse and variously inscribed on the stretcher

#7. Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search, 2018

Phillips New-York: 17 May 2023
Estimated: USD 8,000,000 – 12,000,000
USD 9,724,500

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary Art… Lot 13 May 2023 | Phillips

#8. Forgive Us Our Trespassing, 2011

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 7 October 2020
Estimated: HKD 16,000,000 – 32,000,000
HKD 63,572,000 / USD 8,202,362

BANKSY 班克斯 | FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSING 寬恕我們的罪過 | Contemporary Art Evening Sale | 2020 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSING, 2011
Acrylic, spray paint and marker pens on wooden panel, in four parts
Overall: 655×421 cm (257 7/8 x 165 3/4 inches)
Signed

#9. Love Is In The Air, 2006

Sotheby’s New-York: 18 November 2021
Estimated: USD 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
USD 8,077,200

Love is in the Air | The Now Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love Is In The Air, 2006
Oil and spray paint on canvas
90×90 cm (35.4 x 35.4 inches)

#10. Trolley Hunters, 2006

Sotheby’s New-York: 18 November 2021
Estimated: USD 5,000,000 – 7,000,000
USD 6,698,400

Trolley Hunters | The Now Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Trolley Hunters, 2006
Oil and emulsion on canvas
137×214 cm (53.9 x 84.2 inches)

FIND MORE AUCTION RESULTS

Banksy Top Lots At Auction

PART II: AUCTION RESULTS

PLEASE CLICK ON ANY VISUAL BELOW TO ACCESS THE CATALOGUE ENTRY

2026 Auction Results

Lots Passed

Bunch of Flowers, 2021

Christie’s London: 31 March 2026
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
PASSED

BANKSY, Bunch of Flowers | Christie’s

BANKSY
Bunch of Flowers, 2021
Hand-finished screenprint on board
Image: 87.4 x 87.4 cm
Sheet: 61.8 x 61.8 cm
From a varied series
Initaled and inscribed with a heart in black crayon
Signed and inscribed THIS WAY UP X BANKSY with an arrow on the reverse

Street Works

Gray Ghost Attacks Stick Figure, 2008

Hessink’s: 28 March 2026
Estimated: EUR 600,000 – 800,000
EUR 650,000 (Hammer)
EUR 812,500 / USD 937,440

Lot 15 – Banksy (British Street Artist, born 1974)

BANKSY (British Street Artist, born 1974)
Gray Ghost Attacks Stick Figure, 2008
Stencil, freehand and spray paint on a masonry wall
Dimensions: 244 x 152.5 cm (96×60 inches)
Weight: 2,500 kg

This mural was sprayed on the side of a former firehouse on 514 Jackson Avenue in the lower Garden District in August 2008. The artwork was inspired by an ‘Anti Street Art Vigilante’ known as the “Gray Ghost” (the late Fred Radtke) who had been painting over graffiti in New Orleans for years. The diagonal gray patch was painted by Radtke earlier. Banksy incorporated it into his own work.

3D Rat, 2010

Hessink’s: 28 March 2026
Estimated: EUR 200,000 – 300,000
EUR 340,000 (Hammer)
EUR 425,000 / USD 490,350

Lot 27 – Banksy (British Street Artist, born 1974)

BANKSY (British Street Artist, born 1974)
3D Rat, 2010
Stencil and spray paint on concrete
Dimensions: 24×35 cm (16-1/8 x 21-5/8 inches)

In January 2010, Banksy visited Park City in Utah, where he created several Artworks including some ‘3D Rats’. His trip to Utah was coincide in the run up to the premiere of Banksy’s film ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ which was playing at the 2010 Sundance Festival in the Egyptian Theatre in Park City. Most of his pieces he produced during this time were subsequently lost to the harsh weather conditions, painted over by homeowners or damaged by local vandals. Only three ‘3D Rats’ from Banksy´s trip to Park City have survived. This piece is by far the finest example.

Gangsta Rat – Live, circa 2004

Julien’s Auctions: 4 February 2026
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 160,000 (Hammer)
USD 204,800

Banksy | “Gangsta Rat – Live” Original Liverpool Street Art Painting (with Book)

BANKSY(British, 1974)
Gangsta Rat – Live, circa 2004
Aerosol on metal door mounted in an acrylic shadowbox frame
Dimensions: 34×26 inches

An original Banksy aerosol painting, featuring a rat with a boombox below the word “Live,” reportedly executed on a British Telecom street box in Liverpool, England, during the 2004 Liverpool Biennial contemporary art festival. The artwork was documented in the Banky’s own publication, “Cut It Out” (Paranoid Pictures, 2004). Accompanied by a copy of the book.

Running Coppers, circa 1999

Hessink’s: 28 March 2026
Estimated: EUR 90,000 – 115,000
EUR 90,000 (Hammer)
EUR 112,500 / USD 129,800

Lot 8 – BANKSY (British Street artist, born 1974)

BANKSY (British Street artist, born 1974)
Running Coppers, circa 1999
Stencil and Spray paint on Chipboard
Dimensions: 62x56x2 cm (24-3/8 x 22 x 7/8 inches)

The artwork was painted inside former German cargo ship ‘Thekla’, which was moored in Mud Dock, Bristol. The ship which was converted into a music and comedy venue in 1983 and by the mid 1990’s and early 2000’s it was operating as a nightclub. Banksy painted a number of works at the venue, most famously his ‘Grim Reaper’ on the hull of the ship in 2003, which was later transferred to Bristol Museum’s M Shed, a harbour side museum. The smaller ‘Running Coppers’ was removed from the ship during renovation works in 2006, and was salvaged by one of the site workers who was a fan of Banksy’s work. The site worker then approached Banksy for his permission to keep the piece and was verbally given Banksy’s blessing. One of a number of examples of this particular stencil, produced by Banksy in Bristol in 1999 and later in London. The piece depicts two British police officers in chase mode. Sprayed onto painted chipboard, the piece is quintessential Banksy, capturing a familiar sight in British life, with a few well positioned lines and his uniquely deft touch.

Radar Rat, 2003

Hessink’s: 28 March 2026
Estimated: EUR 140,000 – 180,000
EUR 90,000 (Hammer)
EUR 112,500 / USD 129,800

Lot 2 – Banksy (British Street Artist, born 1974)

BANKSY (British Street Artist, born 1974)
Radar Rat, 2003
Stencil and spray paint on cardboard
Dimensions: 68×56 cm (21-1/4 x 13-3/4 inches)

This work comes from the collection of Harvey Haddock, together with a letter from Harvey Haddock. Forming one of Banksy’s less well known and sought after works, ‘Radar Rat’ or ’Sonic Rat’, which depicts a rat on its hind legs wearing headphones with a tape recorder around its neck and a sonic radar in its hand, first appeared in London’s streets in 2002 and by commission in the ‘Ocean Rooms Nightclub’ in Brighton the same year.

2025 Auction Results

17 lots sold at auction in 2025 for a total turnover of USD 13,015,178. With 1 lot failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 94%.

The highest price has been achieved by Crude Oil (Vettriano), an iconic Crude Oil painting dated 2005 that sold at Sotheby’s in London, on 4 March 2025, for GBP 4,260,000 (USD 5,452,800).

2025 Top 3 Lots

3 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 9,508,800, representing 73% of the total turnover of 2025.

#1. Crude Oil (Vettriano), 2005

Sotheby’s London: 4 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
GBP 4,260,000 / USD 5,452,800
CRUDE OIL

Crude Oil (Vettriano) | Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Crude Oil (Vettriano), 2005
Oil on canvas, in artist’s frame
Canvas: 91×122 cm (35 7/8 x 48 inches)
Tagged (lower right)
Signed, partially titled and dated Oct 2005 (on the overturn edge)

#2. Sorry the Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock, 2003-13

Sotheby’s New-York: 19 November 2025
Estimated: USD 800,000 – 1,200,000
USD 2,856,000

Sorry the Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock (Banksy defaced Hirst) | Contemporary Day Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s

REPEAT SALE

Sotheby’s New-York: 28 October 2020
Estimated: USD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
USD 2,319,000

BANKSY (DEFACED HIRST) | SORRY THE LIFESTYLE YOU ORDERED IS CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2020 | Sotheby’s

BANKSY (b. 1974) & DAMIEN HIRST
Sorry the Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock (Banksy defaced Hirst), 2003-13
Spray paint, emulsion and household gloss on canvas
99.1 x 114.3 cm (39×45 inches)
Signed by Banksy and Hirst and variously inscribed (on the reverse)

#3. Subject to Availability, 2011

Sotheby’s Diriyah: 8 February 2025
Estimated: USD 800,000 – 1,200,000
USD 1,200,000

Subject to Availability | Origins | 2025 | Sotheby’s

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Subject to Availability, 2011
Oil and spray paint on canvas in an artist’s frame
50×91 cm (19 5/8 x 35 7/8 inches)
Signed Banksy (on the edge of the frame)

USD 1 million

#4. Kids on Guns, 2004

Phillips London: 6 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 400,000 – 600,000
GBP 508,000 / USD 650,240

Banksy – Modern & Contemporary Art Eve… Lot 17 March 2025 | Phillips

#12. Heavy Weaponry, 2009

#13. Heavy Weaponry, 2004

Christie’s New-York: 27 February 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 119,700

BANKSY (B. 1985), Heavy Weaponry | Christie’s

BANKSY (B. 1985)
Heavy Weaponry, 2004
Spray paint on canvas
30.5 x 30.5 cm (12×12 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s name ‘Banksy’ (on the overlap)
Numbered ‘10⁄25’ (on the stretcher)

#14. Brick Handbag, 2019

Christie’s London: 6 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 81,900 / USD 104,832

BANKSY, Brick Handbag | Christie’s

BANKSY
Brick Handbag, 2019
House brick, leather and metal hardware
20.8 x 23 x 12.5 cm (8 1/4 x 9 x 4 7/8 inches)
Signed ‘BANKSY’ (on the reverse)
Numbered ‘2⁄5’ (on the underside)
This work is number two from an edition of five unique variants

USD 100,000

#15. People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One, 2003

Bonhams London: 3 April 2025
Estimated: GBP 80,000 – 120,000
GBP 76,600 / USD 99,120

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1975) People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One (Executed in 2003, this work is unique.)

#16. People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One, 2003

#17. Any Person Found, 2011

Christie’s online: 12 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 56,700 / USD 73,385

BANKSY, Any Person Found | Christie’s

BANKSY
Any Person Found, 2011
Screenprint, emulsion and pencil on board
28.9 x 41.9 cm (11 3/8 x 16 1/2 inches)
Signed and numbered ‘BANKSY 4/15’ (on the reverse)
This work is number four from an edition of fifteen

Street Works

TV Girl, circa 2003/2004

Julien’s Auctions: 27 February 2025
Estimated: USD 200,000 – 300,000
USD 222,250

Banksy | “TV Girl” Original Berlin Germany Street Art Mural Painting

BANKSY (British, 1974)
TV Girl, circa 2003/2004
Original Berlin Germany Street Art Mural Painting
Aerosol on resin door panel
110×117 cm (46 x 43.5 inches)

Lots Passed

Kate Moss, 2005

Phillips London: 16 October 2025
Estimated: GBP 700,000 – 1,000,000
PASSED

Banksy Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale

2024 Auction Results

9 lots sold at auction in 2024 for a total turnover of USD 10,571,307. With 4 lots failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 69%. The highest price was achieved by The Leopard and Lamb, a painting dated 2016, that sold at Phillips in Hong-Kong on 31 May 2024 for HKD 36,750,000 (USD 4,704,903).

2024 Top 3 Lots

4 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a total turnover of USD 8,752,613, representing 82.8% of the total turnover for 2024.

#1. The Leopard and Lamb, 2016

Phillips Hong-Kong: 31 May 2024
Estimated: HKD 18,000,000 – 28,000,000
HKD 36,750,000 / USD 4,704,903

Banksy – Modern & Contemporary Art Evenin… Lot 9 May 2024 | Phillips

#2. Flower Thrower Triptych, 2017

Christie’s New-York: 21 February 2024
The Collection of Sir Elton John
Estimated: USD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
USD 1,925,500

BANKSY, Flower Thrower Triptych | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY
Flower Thrower Triptych, 2017
Spray paint on canvas in artist’s frame, in three parts
Left panel: 84.5 x 64.1 cm (33 1/4 x 25 1/4 inches)
Center panel: 106.7 x 76.2 cm (42×30 inches)
Right panel: 42.2 x 52.3 cm (16 5/8 x 20 5/8 inches
Overall: 106.7 x 203.2 cm (42×80 inches)
Signed and dated ‘Banksy 2017’ (on the reverse of the left panel)

#3. Girl and Balloon, 2003

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 26 September 2024
Estimated: HKD 7,000,000 – 10,000,000
HKD 8,568,000 / USD 1,100,430

Girl and Balloon (christies.com)

BANKSY (B. 1974)
Girl and Balloon, 2003
Spray paint on canvas
40×40 cm (16×16 inches)
Stenciled ‘BANKSY’ (on the side)
Numbered ‘21⁄25’ (on the stretcher bar)

#4. Vest, 2019

Sotheby’s London: 9 October 2024
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 780,000 / USD 1,021,800

Vest | Contemporary Evening Auction | 2024 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Vest, 2019
Acrylic on canvas, velcro and Plastazte foam
45x43x32 cm (17 3/4 x 16 7/8 x 12 5/8 inches)
Signed and numbered 1 (on the reverse)
This work is number 1 from an edition of 5

USD 1 million

#5. Untitled (Fuck the Police), 2000

Phillips London: 10 October 2024
Estimated: GBP 500,000 – 700,000
GBP 635,000 / USD 831,850

Banksy – Modern & Contemporary Art E… Lot 14 October 2024 | Phillips

REPEAT SALE

Bonhams London: 3 October 2019
Estimated: GBP 450,000 – 650,000
GBP 555,062 / USD 684,750

Bonhams : Banksy (British, b. 1975) Untitled (Fuck the Police) 2000

REPEAT SALE

Sotheby’s London: 11 February 2015
Estimated: GBP 180,000 – 250,000
GBP 209,000 / USD 318,310

(#363) Banksy

REPEAT SALE

Christie’s New-York: 14 May 2008
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 229,000

Banksy (b. 1975) , Untitled (Fuck the Police) | Christie’s

#7. Keep It Real, 2002

Christie’s London: 9 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 200,000
GBP 277,200 / USD 351,490

Banksy (christies.com)

BANKSY
Keep It Real, 2002
Spray paint and emulsion on canvas
25.5 x 20 cm (10×8 inches)
Tagged ‘BANKSY’ (on the turnover edge)
Executed in 2002, this work is from a series

#8. Out of Time, 2003

Digard Auctions Paris: 11 June 2024
Estimated: EUR 200,000 – 300,000
EUR 323,750 / USD 347,470

f- BANKSY (British, born 1975) – Lot 55

BANKSY (British, born 1975)
Out of Time, 2003
Spray paint and stencil on cardboard
50×70 cm (19-5/8 x 27-5/8 inches)

#9. Lenin on Rollerblades (Who Put the Revolution on Ice?), 2003

Bonhams LA: 1 March 2024
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 120,000
USD 140,200

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1974) Lenin on Rollerblades 

Lots Passed

Police Car, 2003

Christie’s New-York: 17 May 2024
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
PASSED

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6482516

BANKSY
Police Car, 2003
Acrylic and spray paint on cardboard
82.6 x 112.4 cm (32 1/2 x 44 1/4 inches)
Stenciled ‘Banksy’ (lower left)

People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One, 2003

Bonhams London: 21 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
PASSED

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1975) People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One 2003

BANKSY
People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One, 2003
Spray paint on found St. George’s Cross Flag
132×95 cm (51 15/16 x 37 3/8 inches)

Heavy Weaponry, 2003

Phillips London: 8 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 180,000 – 250,000
PASSED

https://www.phillips.com/detail/banksy/UK010224/125

Laugh Now, 2003

Sotheby’s London: 7 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 300,000 – 400,000
PASSED

Laugh Now | Modern & Contemporary Day Auction | 2024 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Laugh Now, 2003
Acrylic and spray paint on paper
118.5 x 85.2 cm (46 5/8 x 33 1/2 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s name and titled (center)
Stenciled with the artist’s name (on the verso)

Love Rat (White Border), 2002

Christie’s London: 27 June 2024
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 200,000
PASSED

BANKSY

BANKSY
Love Rat (White Border), 2002
Spray paint and emulsion on board
51 x 40.5 cm (20×16 inches)
This work is unique in its format

Homeless di Milo, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 10 October 2024
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
PASSED

Banksy | Homeless Di Milo | Contemporary Day Auction | 2024 |

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Homeless di Milo, 2006
Resin fiberglass
182 x 69.8 x 61.3 cm (71-5/8 x 27-1/2 x 24-1/8 inches)
Signed and dated ’06 (on the backside of the base)
This work is from a varied edition of 3

2023 Auction Results

12 lots sold at auction in 2023 for a total turnover of USD 22,687,315. With 4 lots unsold, the sell-through rate is 75%. The highest price was achieved at Phillips in New-York on 17 May 2023 with Banksy’s homage to Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksquiat, Boy and Dog in Stop and Search, dated 2018, sold for USD 9,724,500.

2023 Top 3 Lots

6 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 20,520,352, representing 90.5% of the total turnover for 2023.

#1. Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search, 2018

Phillips New-York: 17 May 2023
Estimated: USD 8,000,000 – 12,000,000
USD 9,724,500

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary Art… Lot 13 May 2023 | Phillips

#6. Dorothy I Don’t Think…, 2011

Christie’s London: 28 June 2023
Estimated: GBP 600,000 – 800,000
GBP 1,008,000 / USD 1,273,531

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Dorothy I Don’t Think…, 2011
Spray paint on lino flooring laid on board
100×80 cm (39 3/8 x 31 1/2 inches)
Signed ‘BANKSY’ (lower right); signed and dated ‘BANKSY 11’ (on the reverse)

#7. Flower Chucker, 2003

Sotheby’s London: 31 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 300,000 – 400,000
GBP 381,000 / USD 454,871

Flower Chucker | Modern & Contemporary Day Auction | 2023 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Flower Chucker, 2003
Spray paint on cardboard
21 1/2 x 22 inches (54.5 x 56 cm)
Stencilled with the artist’s name

#8. Police Car, 2003

Digard Auction: 12 December 2023
Estimated: EUR 300,000 – 500,000
EUR 364,000 / USD 393,725

BANKSY (Britannique, né en 1975) (digard.com)

BANKSY
Police Car, 2003
Spray paint and mixed media on cardboard
73×105 cm (28.7 x 41.3 inches)
Unique in this format

#9. Single Lane Ahead, 2011

Heritage Auctions: 30 March 2023
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 362,500

Banksy (b.1974). Single Lane Ahead, 2011. Spray enamel on street | Lot #66024 | Heritage Auctions (ha.com)

BANKSY (b.1974)
Single Lane Ahead, 2011
Spray enamel on street sign
119×119 cm (47×47 inches)
Metal pole: 238 cm high (91 inches)
Signed and dated on reverse: BANKSY / 2011

#10. Warning Sign, 2006

Heritage Auctions: 30 March 2023
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 362,500

Banksy (b. 1974). Warning Sign, 2006. Spray enamel on street sign. | Lot #66025 | Heritage Auctions (ha.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Warning Sign, 2006
Spray enamel on street sign
80×80 cm (31 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches)
Metal pole: 238 cm (94 inches) high
Signed on reverse: BANKSY

#11. Exclamation Rat, 2003

Sotheby’s London: 18 April 2023
Estimated: GBP 220,000 – 320,000
GBP 279,400 / USD 346,994

Exclamation Rat | Contemporary Curated | 2023 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Exclamation Rat, 2003
Spray paint on canvas
40 x 30.5 cm (15 3/4 x 12 inches)
Tagged on the overturn edge

#12. Heavy Weaponry (On Multi-Coloured Background), 2009

Christie’s London: 29 June 2023
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 195,300 / USD 246,373

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Heavy Weaponry (On Multi-Coloured Background), 2009
Spray-paint and acrylic on board, in artist’s frame
59.4 x 70 x 5.5 cm (23 3/8 x 27 1/2 x 2 1/8 inches)
Signed ‘BANKSY’ (lower right); signed and dated ‘BANKSY 09’ (on the reverse)
This work is from a varied series

Lots Passed

Keep It Real, 2003

Christie’s London: 14 October 2023
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
PASSED

BANKSY, Keep It Real | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY
Keep It Real, 2003
Spray paint on canvas
30.5 x 30.5 cm (12×12 inches)
Tagged ‘Banksy’ (on the turnover edge); numbered ’11⁄15′ (on the stretcher)
This work is number eleven from an edition of fifteen

Exclamation Rat, 2006

Bonhams London: 12 October 2023
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
PASSED

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1975) Exclamation Rat 2006

2022 Auction Results

20 lots sold at auction in 2022 for a total turnover of USD 37,967,276. With 5 lots failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 80%. The highest price has been achieved at Sotheby’s in Hong-Kong on 27 April 2022, when an iteration of Love Is In The Air, dated 2006 sold for HKD 51,273,000 (USD 6,508,768).

2022 Top 3 Lots

9 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, for a cumulative turnover of USD 30,925,373, contributing 81.4% to the total turnover for 2022.

#1. Love is in the Air, 2006

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 27 April 2022
Estimated: HKD 40,000,000 – 60,000,000
HKD 51,273,000 / USD 6,508,768

Banksy 班克斯 | Love is in the Air 愛在空氣中 | Contemporary Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2006 
Oil and spray paint on canvas
91.4 x 91.4 cm (36×36 inches)

#2. Vandalised Oil (Choppers), 2005

Sotheby’s London: 3 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
GBP 4,384,900 / USD 5,861,382

Vandalised Oil (Choppers) | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Vandalised Oil (Choppers), 2005
Oil and spraypaint on canvas
94×61 cm (37×24 inches)

#3. Love Is In The Air, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 3,400,000 – 4,000,000
GBP 3,483,500 / USD 3,905,269

Love Is In The Air | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (B. 1974)
Love Is In The Air, 2006
Spray paint and oil on linen
91.5 x 91.5 cm (36×36 inches)
Tagged (on the overturn edge)
Signed Banksy, dated May 2006 and numbered AP 02 (on the overlap)

#4. Girl with Balloon, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 2 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
GBP 2,818,000 / USD 3,766,876

Girl with Balloon | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Girl with Balloon, 2006
Spray-paint on metal
60×90 cm (23 5/8 x 35 1/2 inches)
This work is from an edition of 5

#5. Diamond In The Rough, 2010

Christie’s New-York: 9 May 2022
Estimated: USD 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
USD 3,660,000

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Diamond In The Rough, 2010
Spray paint on truck door
192.7 x 93 x 10.2 cm (76x37x4 inches)

#6. This is Not a Photo Opportunity, 2007

Sotheby’s New-York: 19 May 2022
Estimated: USD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
USD 2,690,000 / USD 2,079,751

This is Not a Photo Opportunity | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
This is Not a Photo Opportunity, 2007
Spray paint on found oil painting, in artist’s frame
62×72 cm (24.1 x 28.1 inches)

#7. Sorry The Lifestyle You Ordered Is Currently Out Of Stock, 2012

Phillips London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 1,200,000 – 1,800,000
GBP 1,837,500 / USD 2,059,977

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary… Lot 21 October 2022 | Phillips

#8. Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be In Charge, 2002

Phillips London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
GBP 1,172,000 / USD 1,313,901

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary… Lot 25 October 2022 | Phillips

#9. Love Is In the Air (with stars), 2006

Sotheby’s New-York: 17 November 2022
Estimated: USD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
USD 1,159,200

Love Is In the Air (with stars) | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (B. 1974)
Love Is In the Air (with stars), 2006
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
42.5 x 43 cm (16 3/4 x 17 inches)
Tagged BANKSY (on the turning edge); signed BANKSY (on the reverse)

#10. Girl with Balloon Diptych, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 1,200,000 – 1,800,000
GBP 882,000 / USD 988,789

Girl with Balloon Diptych | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (B. 1974)
Girl with Balloon Diptych, 2006
Spray paint on canvas, in two parts
Each: 30×30 cm (12×12 inches)
Left canvas: signed Banksy, dated 2006 and numbered Artist Proof 00/25 (on the reverse)
Right canvas: tagged (on the overturn edge)

#11. Kids on Guns, 2003

Phillips Hong-Kong: 1 December 2022
Estimated: HKD 8,500,000 – 12,000,000
HKD 7,147,000 / USD 915,700

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporar… Lot 26 December 2022 | Phillips

#12. Love Rat on palette, 2003

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 28 April 2022
Estimated: HKD 6,000,000 – 9,000,000
HKD 6,300,000 / USD 802,916

Banksy 班克斯 | Love Rat on palette 愛鼠木板 | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Love Rat on palette, 2003
Spray paint on wooden palette
60×50 cm (23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches)

#13. Rat & Heart, 2014

Sotheby’s London: 3 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 500,000 – 700,000
GBP 579,600 / USD 772,079

Rat & Heart | Modern & Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Rat & Heart, 2014
Spray paint, emulsion and collage on board, in artist’s inner frame
27×36 cm (10 5/8 x 14 1/8 inches)
Signed and dedicated on the reverse

#14. Girl with Balloon & Morons Sepia, 2007

Phillips Hong-Kong: 1 December 2022
Estimated: HKD 4,500,000 – 6,500,000
HKD 5,670,000 / USD 726,461

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporar… Lot 25 December 2022 | Phillips

#15. Love is in the Air, 2002

Christie’s London: 13 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 500,000 – 700,000
GBP 567,000 / USD 635,650

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2002
Spray paint on canvas
21×18 inches (53.4 x 45.7 cm)
From a series, Tagged ‘Banksy’ (lower right)

#16. Laugh Now, 2000

Christie’s London: 13 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 400,000 – 600,000
GBP 529,200 / USD 593,273

BANKSY, Laugh Now | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY
Laugh Now, 2000
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
61×61 cm (24×24 inches)
Unique in its format

#17. Angel Flack Jacket, 2009

Sotheby’s London: 15 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 504,000 / USD 563,443

Angel Flack Jacket | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Angel Flack Jacket, 2009
Spray paint on wood
244 x 82.8 cm (96 x 32 5/8 inches)
Signed and marked with the artist’s symbol on the reverse

#18. Chopper, 2002

Sotheby’s London: 3 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 327,600 / USD 438,367

Chopper | Modern & Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Chopper, 2002
Acrylic and spray paint on cardboard
84.8 x 170 cm (33 1/2 x 66 7/8 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s name

#19. Abe Lincoln, 2008

Phillips Hong-Kong: 22 June 2022
Estimated: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
HKD 2,772,000 / USD 353,130

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 152 June 2022 | Phillips

#20. Fallen Angel, 2008

Bonhams London: 13 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 227,100 / USD 252,095

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1975) Fallen Angel 2008

Passed Lots

Homeless di Milo, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 13 September 2022
Estimated: GBP 400,000 – 600,000
PASSED

Homeless di Milo | Contemporary Curated | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Homeless di Milo, 2006
Resin fiberglass
182 x 69.8 x 61.3 cm (71 5/8 x 27 1/2 x 24 1/8 inches)
Signed and dated ’06 on the backside of the base
This work is from a varied edition of 3

Turf War, 2003

Sotheby’s London: 29 June 2022
Estimated: GBP 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
PASSED

Turf War | British Art: The Jubilee Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Turf War, 2003
Oil and emulsion on canvas
254.5 x 254.5 cm (100 1/2 x 100 1/2 inches)

Rat with Sunglasses Test Spray, 2009

Sotheby’s London: 28 April 2022
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 200,000
PASSED

Rat with Sunglasses Test Spray | Contemporary Curated | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Rat with Sunglasses Test Spray, 2009
Spray paint on card
23×25 cm (9 x 9 3/4 inches)
Signed

Laugh Now Monkeys with Monkey Placards, 2000

Phillips London: 3 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 1,500,000 – 2,500,000
PASSED

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 25 March 2022 | Phillips

Happy Choppers, 2006

Christie’s London: 1 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
PASSED

BANKSY, Happy Choppers | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY
Happy Choppers, 2006
Spray-paint and emulsion on canvas
125×180 cm (49 1/4 x 70 7/8 inches)
Tagged ‘BANKSY’ (lower right)
Signed and dated ‘BANSKY FEB 2006’ (on the overlap)
This work is one of three variations

2021 Auction Results

36 lots sold at auction in 2021 for a total turnover of USD 142,468,831.. 2021 was an absolute record year for Banksy with no less than 4 new auction records for the artist. With 5 lots failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 88%. The highest price was achieved by Love In The Bin, the result of a spectacular art performance viewed by millions of collectors worldwide two years before, showcasing a Girl with Balloon being shredded after it was just acquired at Sotheby’s.

2021 Top 5 Lots

21 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 134,840,406, representing 94.6% of the total turnover for 2021.

#1. Love Is In The Bin, 2018

Sotheby’s London: 14 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
GBP 18,582,000 / USD 25,457,340

Love is in the Bin | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love Is In The Bin, 2018
Spray paint and acrylic on canvas mounted on board, framed by the artist
Decommissioned, remote controlled shredding mechanism remains in the frame.
142x78x18 cm (60 x 30.9 x 7 inches)

#2. Game Changer, 2020

Christie’s London: 22 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
GBP 16,758,000 / USD 23,114,482

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Game Changer, 2020
Oil on canvas
91×91 cm (35.9 x 35.9 inches)

#3. Sunflowers from Petrol Station, 2005

Christie’s New-York: 8 November 2021
Estimated: USD 12,000,000 – 18,000,000
USD 14,558,000

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Sunflowers from Petrol Station, 2005
Oil on canvas, in artist’s frame
102.6 x 87.5 cm (40.6 x 34.4 inches)

#4. Love is in the Air, 2005

Sotheby’s New-York: 12 May 2021
Estimated: USD 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
USD 12,903,000

Love is in the Air | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2005
Oil and spray paint on canvas
90×90 cm (35.4 x 36.4 inches)

#5. Love Is In The Air, 2006

Sotheby’s New-York: 18 November 2021
Estimated: USD 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
USD 8,077,200

Love is in the Air | The Now Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love Is In The Air, 2006
Oil and spray paint on canvas
90×90 cm (35.4 x 35.4 inches)

#6. Trolley Hunters, 2006

Sotheby’s New-York: 18 November 2021
Estimated: USD 5,000,000 – 7,000,000
USD 6,698,400

Trolley Hunters | The Now Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Trolley Hunters, 2006
Oil and emulsion on canvas
137×214 cm (53.9 x 84.2 inches)

BANKSY
Subject to Availability, 2009
Oil on canvas, in artist’s frame
159.5 x 220.3cm (62.7 x 86.7 inches)

#8. Sale Ends Today, 2006

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 23 May 2021
Estimated: HKD 21,000,000 – 28,000,000
HKD 47,050,000 / USD 6,059,162

BANKSY (B. 1974) (christies.com)

BANKSY
Sale Ends Today, 2006
Oil on canvas
213.4 x 426.7cm (84×168 inches)

#9. Girl with Balloon (Diptych), 2005

Christie’s London: 14 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 2,600,000 – 3,500,000
GBP 3,042,500 / USD 4,168,225

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Girl with Balloon (Diptych), 2005
Spray paint on canvas, in two parts
Each: 30.2 x 30.2 cm (12×12 inches)
This work is from an edition of twenty-five

#10. Original Concept for Barely Legal Poster (after Demi Moore), 2006

Sotheby’s London: 27 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
GBP 2,677,000 / USD 3,672,657

Original Concept for Barely Legal Poster (after Demi Moore) |《法律灰色地帶之海報原創概念（模仿狄美·摩亞）》 | Modern Renaissance: A Cross-Category Sale | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Original Concept for Barely Legal Poster (after Demi Moore), 2006
Spray paint and emulsion on canvas
213 x 137.5 cm (83.9 x 54 inches)

#11. Laugh Now, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 29 June 2021
Estimated: GBP 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
GBP 2,435,000 / USD 3,371,975

Laugh Now | 《現在儘管笑吧》 | Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Laugh Now, 2006
Spray-paint on metal
129.5 x 91 cm (51 x 35.9 inches)

#12. Laugh Now Panel A, 2002

Phillips Hong-Kong: 8 June 2021
Estimated: HKD 22,000,000 – 32,000,000
HKD 24,450,000 / USD 3,150,813

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary Ar… Lot 22 June 2021 | Phillips

BANKSY
Laugh Now Panel A, 2002
Spray paint and emulsion on dry wall, in artist’s frame
178.5 x 74 cm (70.2 x 29.1 inches)

#13. Gas Mask Boy, 2009

Phillips London: 15 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 1,600,000 – 2,000,000
GBP 2,200,500 / USD 3,032,662

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 21 April 2021 | Phillips

BANKSY
Gas Mask Boy, 2009
Spray paint and oil on wood
92.5 x 72 cm (36.4 x 28.4 inches)

#14. Girl with Balloon, 2003

Sotheby’s London: 29 June 2021
Estimated: GBP 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
GBP 2,072,000 / USD 2,870,000

Girl with Balloon | British Art Evening Sale: Modern/Contemporary | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Girl with Balloon, 2003
Spray paint on canvas
40.5 x 40.5 cm (16×16 inches)
This work is from an edition of 25

#15. Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be in Charge, 2000

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 18 June 2021
Estimated: HKD 6,200,000 – 9,300,000
HKD 18,920,000 / USD 2,282,681

Banksy 班克斯 | Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be in Charge 現在儘管笑吧，終有一天我們將為主宰者 | Contemporary Curated: Asia | JAY CHOU x SOTHEBY’S | Evening Sale | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be in Charge, 2000
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
61×61 cm (24×24 inches)

#16. Monkey Detonator, 2000

Christie’s New-York: 8 November 2021
Estimated: USD 1,800,000 – 2,500,000
USD 2,190,000

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Monkey Detonator, 2000
Spray paint on canvas
30×30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm)
This work is from a varying series and is accompanied by original Metropolitan Police tag

#17. Hummingbird, 2015

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 24 May 2021
Estimated: HKD 11,000,000 – 16,000,000
HKD 15,850,000 / USD 2,041,184

BANKSY (B.1974), Hummingbird | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY (B.1974)
Hummingbird, 2015
Fiberglass, spray paint and emulsion on board in the original frame by the artist
65x55x40 cm (25 5/8 x 21 5/8 x 15 3/4 inches)
Signed ‘BANKSY’ (lower right)
This work is unique from a varied series

#18. Girl With Ice Cream on Palette, 2004

Bonhams London: 24 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 300,000 – 500,000
GBP 1,102,750 / USD 1,339,113

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1975) Girl With Ice Cream on Palette 2004

BANKSY
Girl With Ice Cream on Palette, 2004
Spray paint and emulsion on wood
59.7 x 50 cm (23.5 x 19.7 inches)

#19. Laugh Now, 2002

Sotheby’s London: 13 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 400,000 – 600,000
GBP 862,000 / USD 1,184,391

Laugh Now | Contemporary Curated | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1975)
Laugh Now, 2002
Spray paint on canvas
30.5 x 30.5 cm (12×12 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s signature on the overturn
Signed on the reverse

#20. Love Is In The Air, 2002

Phillips New-York: 23 June 2021
Estimated: USD 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
USD 1,179,500

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary Ar… Lot 46 June 2021 | Phillips

BANKSY
Love Is In The Air, 2002
Spray-paint on canvas
20×17 inches (50.8 x 43.3 cm)
This work is number 4 from an edition of 5

#21. Keep it Real, 2000

International Art Center: 30 March 2021
Estimated: NZD 600,000 – 1,000,000
NZD 1,455,000 / USD 1,016,771

Auction « Tue, 30 Mar, 2021 « Work 27 « International Art Centre

BANKSY
Keep it Real, 2000
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
30×30 cm
Signed on side of canvas

USD 1 million

#22. Lenin in Sight, 2004

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 25 May 2021
Estimated: HKD 7,000,000 – 9,000,000
HKD 7,450,000 / USD 959,717

BANKSY (B. 1974), Lenin in Sight | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY (B. 1974)
Lenin in Sight, 2004
Spray paint on board
59×60 cm (23 1/4 x 23 5/8 inches)

#23. Bomb Love, 2002

Bonhams London: 15 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 300,000 – 400,000
GBP 562,750 / USD 681,932

Bonhams : Banksy (B. 1975) Bomb Love 2002

BANKSY
Bomb Love, 2002
Spray paint on canvas
25.4 x 20.3 cm (10×8 inches)

#24. Lost Children’s Sign from Glastonbury Festival (Sketch), 2005

Christie’s London: 25 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 525,000 / USD 719,901

BANKSY, Lost Children’s Sign from Glastonbury Festival (Sketch) | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY
Lost Children’s Sign from Glastonbury Festival (Sketch), 2005
Spray paint on packing paper
89×81 cm (35 x 31 7/8 inches)
Signed and dated ‘BANKSY 2005’ (lower right)

#25. Keep it Real, 2002

Sotheby’s London: 15 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 400,000 – 600,000
GBP 499,000 / USD 686,476

Keep It Real | Contemporary Art Day Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Keep It Real, 2003
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
30.5 x 30.5 cm (12×12 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s signature on the overturn edge
Numbered 10/15 on the stretcher
This work is number 10 from an edition of 15

#26. Love is in the Air, 2003

Phillips London: 15 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 400,000 – 600,000
GBP 441,000 / USD 607,772

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 20 April 2021 | Phillips

BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2003
Spray paint on cardboard
68 x 67.5 cm (26.7 x 26.6 inches)

#27. Gangsta Rat Peace, 2007

Phillips New-York: 24 June 2021
Estimated: USD 500,000 – 700,000
USD 529,200

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 350 June 2021 | Phillips

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Riot Cop, 2004
Spray paint on card
101 x 69.4 cm (39 1/4 x 27 3/8 inches)
Signed, numbered 1/2 and dated 04
This work is number 1 from an edition of 2.

#29. Bird with Grenade, 2005

Phillips London: 16 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 50,000 – 70,000
GBP 327,600 / USD 452,924

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary … Lot 224 April 2021 | Phillips

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Bad Meaning Good, 2002
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
40.9 x 40.6 cm (16 1/8 x 15 7/8 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s name on the overturn edge

#31. Heavy Weaponry, 2004

Christie’s London: 1 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 250,000
GBP 275,000 / USD 378,174

BANKSY (B. 1974), Heavy Weaponry | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY (B. 1974)
Heavy Weaponry, 2004
Spray paint on canvas
30.5 x 30.5 x 4 cm
Numbered 12/25 on the stretcher
Stenciled with the BANKSY tag in red on the overlap

#32. Radar Rat, 2002

Sotheby’s New-York: 13 May 2021
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 352,800

Radar Rat | Contemporary Art Day Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Radar Rat, 2002
Spray paint on cardboard
50.2 x 37.5 cm (19 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches)
This work is unique

#33. Bunch of Flowers, 2020

Christie’s London: 25 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 250,000
GBP 250,000 / USD 342,982

BANKSY, Bunch of Flowers | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY
Bunch of Flowers, 2020
Spray paint on acetate, in artist’s frame
85.7 x 71 x 3.2 cm (33 3/4 x 28 x 1 1/4 inches)
Signed ‘Banksy’ (lower right); inscribed ‘For Trevor’ (lower left)

#34. Many drink to forget…, 2005

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 18 June 2021
Estimated: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
HKD 2,646,000 / USD 340,856

Banksy 班克斯 | Many drink to forget… 許多人喝酒是爲了忘記… | Contemporary Curated: Asia | JAY CHOU x SOTHEBY’S | Evening Sale | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Many drink to forget…, 2005
Spray paint on wood
43.2 x 122 cm (17×48 inches)

#35. Precision Bombing, 2000

Christie’s London: 16 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 225,000 / USD 309,412

BANKSY, Precision Bombing | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY
Precision Bombing, 2000
Spray paint and emulsion on canvas
43 x 47.3 cm (16 7/8 x 18 5/8 inches)
Tagged ‘BANKSY’ (lower right); numbered and dated ‘2000 6⁄10’ (on the stretcher)
This work is number six from an edition of ten

#36. People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One, 2003

Forum Auctions: 23 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 288,400 / USD 304,624

LOT:10 | Banksy (b.1974) People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One (forumauctions.co.uk)

BANKSY (b.1974)
People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One, 2003
Spray paint on found St George’s Cross Flag
Overall size: 132×95 cm (52 x 37 3/8 inches)
Unique from a series

Lots Passed

Lenin on Roller Skates, 2003

Sotheby’s London: 15 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
PASSED

Lenin on Roller Skates | Contemporary Art Day Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Lenin on Roller Skates, 2003
Spray paint on canvas
40×30 cm (15 3/4 x 11 7/8 inches)
stenciled with the artist’s name on the overturn edge, numbered 17/25 and dated 2003 on the stretcher
This work is number 17 from an edition of 25

Repeat Sales

WORK IN PROGRESS

Sorry the Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock, 2003-13

Sotheby’s New-York: 19 November 2025
Estimated: USD 800,000 – 1,200,000
USD 2,856,000

Sorry the Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock (Banksy defaced Hirst) | Contemporary Day Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s

REPEAT SALE

Sotheby’s New-York: 28 October 2020
Estimated: USD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
USD 2,319,000

BANKSY (DEFACED HIRST) | SORRY THE LIFESTYLE YOU ORDERED IS CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2020 | Sotheby’s

BANKSY (b. 1974) & DAMIEN HIRST
Sorry the Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock (Banksy defaced Hirst), 2003-13
Spray paint, emulsion and household gloss on canvas
99.1 x 114.3 cm (39×45 inches)
Signed by Banksy and Hirst and variously inscribed (on the reverse)

Untitled (Fuck the Police), 2000

Phillips London: 10 October 2024
Estimated: GBP 500,000 – 700,000
GBP 635,000 / USD 831,850

Banksy – Modern & Contemporary Art E… Lot 14 October 2024 | Phillips

REPEAT SALE

Bonhams London: 3 October 2019
Estimated: GBP 450,000 – 650,000
GBP 555,062 / USD 684,750

Bonhams : Banksy (British, b. 1975) Untitled (Fuck the Police) 2000

REPEAT SALE

Sotheby’s London: 11 February 2015
Estimated: GBP 180,000 – 250,000
GBP 209,000 / USD 318,310

(#363) Banksy

REPEAT SALE

Christie’s New-York: 14 May 2008
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 229,000

Banksy (b. 1975) , Untitled (Fuck the Police) | Christie’s

PART III: FOCUS

Girl with Balloon

Beating Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire, Constable’s The Hay Wain and Hockney’s A Bigger Splash to the top spot, Banksy’s Girl with Balloon was voted the nation’s favorite artwork in a 2017 poll; a resounding affirmation of the broad and wide-reaching popularity of this undeniably iconic and culturally formidable image. This accolade was further compounded by the dramatic live ‘shredding’ event at Sotheby’s in October 2018 which notoriously turned a Girl with Balloon canvas into Love is in the Bin – a work that dominated headlines the world over, taking the art world by storm and has since been exhibited at the Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden and more recently at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. Its impact on the latter’s visitor numbers was substantial, and further reinforces the power of this image and its mysterious author.

Girl with Balloon is a fundamentally ambiguous image. Showing a small girl with windswept dress and hair, the viewer is unsure as to whether she has let the balloon go, or had it swept from her hand; uncertain as to whether to read this as a hopeful scene, or a desolate one. This image has become Banksy’s calling card. Akin to Andy Warhol’s soup cans, and Damien Hirst’s spots, this motif has appeared throughout his oeuvre and onwards through global visual culture. Starting in 2002, the work appeared in street murals in Shoreditch and the South bank in London. The artist created a hugely popular edition of 600 prints on paper, including 150 signed impressions, and there is an edition of 25 works on canvas that are now considered amongst the most sought-after paintings from Banksy’s career. In 2017, Girl with Balloon was voted the nation’s favorite artwork in a poll, beating Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire, Constable’s The Hay Wain, and Hockney’s A Bigger Splash. As an image it is transcendent and immediately recognizable; the most famous image created by the most famous artist today. Born in Bristol and based in England, Banksy has garnered international acclaim for his distinctive style of satirical street art and graffiti, executed using a technique of stenciling. His work is rich in dark humor and frequently captioned with subversive epigrams that provide poignant and potent commentaries on the social and political aspects of contemporary society. Instantly gettable, Banksy’s graffiti image is a perfect encapsulation of human emotion for the fast pace of our social media age: it seditiously pokes fun at high-minded art world savoir faire and in doing so appeals to many, for whom it represents a contemporary expression of sanctity, a bright and vivid symbol of hope everlasting. Ultimately, however, Girl with Balloon is the supreme icon within Banksy’s canon of motifs: whether you are for or against him, this image utterly encapsulates the immediacy and controversy surrounding the artist’s mission.

1. Unique Works

Girl with Balloon, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 2 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
GBP 2,818,000 / USD 3,766,875

Girl with Balloon | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Girl with Balloon, 2006
Spray-paint on metal
60×90 cm (23 5/8 x 35 1/2 inches)
This work is from an edition of 5

Love Is In The Bin, 2018

Sotheby’s London: 14 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
GBP 18,582,000 / USD 25,457,340

Love is in the Bin | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love Is In The Bin, 2018
Spray paint and acrylic on canvas mounted on board, framed by the artist
Decommissioned, remote controlled shredding mechanism remains in the frame.
142x78x18 cm (60 x 30.9 x 7 inches)

2. Editions/Series

Girl and Balloon, 2003

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 26 September 2024
Estimated: HKD 7,000,000 – 10,000,000
HKD 8,568,000 / USD 1,100,430

Girl and Balloon (christies.com)

BANKSY (B. 1974)
Girl and Balloon, 2003
Spray paint on canvas
40×40 cm (16×16 inches)
Stenciled ‘BANKSY’ (on the side)
Numbered ‘21⁄25’ (on the stretcher bar)

Girl with Balloon & Morons Sepia, 2007

Phillips Hong-Kong: 1 December 2022
Estimated: HKD 4,500,000 – 6,500,000
HKD 5,670,000 / USD 726,461

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporar… Lot 25 December 2022 | Phillips

First developed in 2002 and 2006 respectively, Girl with Ballon and Morons have, as independent images, become laden with meaning. The former, initially devised as a stencil mural, was exhibited in such public and political spaces as Waterloo Bridge and the West Bank barrier. Its portrayal of a young girl reaching for – or releasing – a drifting balloon spurred a number of interpretations relating to one’s inevitable loss of childhood and innocence. Recognized as one of the artist’s foremost symbols for more than a decade, and voted the nation’s favorite artwork in 2017, the image once again came to the forefront of the public’s attention in 2018, when a 2006 framed copy of the artwork came to auction and sold for a record price. Adding further momentum to the event, the work began self-destructing just a few moments after the closing bid, by means of a concealed mechanical paper shredder Banksy had built into the frame bottom. Marking auction history with an unprecedented performative quality, Girl with Balloon became an icon for the unpredictable developments of contemporary markets, whilst simultaneously entering the realm of popular culture.

Similarly quoting the environment and corporate fabric of the auction world, Morons was published as a set of six prints on the occasion of Banksy’s important and characteristically controversial warehouse exhibition Barely Legal, which took place in Los Angeles in 2006. In the now iconic image, an auctioneer commands a sale room packed with bidders, immortalising the historical 1987 sale that saw Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers yield a price of £22,500,000 – a record for any work at auction at the time. Among the works on display, a large canvas to the right of the composition stands out, reading the words ‘I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU MORONS ACTUALLY BUY THIS SHIT’. Devising a facetious critique of the art world – one that Banksy has become known and revered for – the artist paradoxically turns his own creative gesture into a reproducible image, one that, in Girl with Balloon & Morons Sepia, constitutes half of the work’s iconographic value. Together, Morons Sepia and Girl with Balloon form a joint critique of the art world, specifically on the auction market, irreverently contributing to the artist’s overarching political stance. As such, the work epitomises Banksy’s ability to propel his infamous urban vernacular to the realm of high art.

Girl with Balloon Diptych, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 1,200,000 – 1,800,000
GBP 882,000 / USD 988,789

Girl with Balloon Diptych | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (B. 1974)
Girl with Balloon Diptych, 2006
Spray paint on canvas, in two parts
Each: 30×30 cm (12×12 inches)
Left canvas: signed Banksy, dated 2006 and numbered Artist Proof 00/25 (on the reverse)
Right canvas: tagged (on the overturn edge)

Girl with Balloon (Diptych), 2005

Christie’s London: 14 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 2,600,000 – 3,500,000
GBP 3,042,500 / USD 4,168,225

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Girl with Balloon (Diptych), 2005
Spray paint on canvas, in two parts
Each: 30.2 x 30.2 cm (12×12 inches)
This work is from an edition of twenty-five

Girl with Balloon, 2003

Sotheby’s London: 29 June 2021
Estimated: GBP 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
GBP 2,072,000 / USD 2,870,000

Girl with Balloon | British Art Evening Sale: Modern/Contemporary | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Girl with Balloon, 2003
Spray paint on canvas
40.5 x 40.5 cm (16×16 inches)
This work is from an edition of 25

Love Is In The Air

Testament to the importance of the work and the power of its imagery, in which a masked figure of a militant stands poised to hurl a bouquet of flowers into the air, the original street intervention of Love is in the Air, was sprayed onto a wall in Palestine, and was chosen to illustrate the front cover of Banksy’s 2005 monograph Wall and Piece.

The work shares its title with the 1978 hit song by John Paul Young. Emblematic of Banksy’s wit, satire and dark humor, the title is expressive of the positive message of the work, that being the call for peace. Banksy’s iconic flower thrower has become synonymous with the artist’s thought-provoking oeuvre, a powerful image expressing the absurdity of war and the artist’s vocal advocacy for peace.  

An archetypal example of Banksy’s perceptive and stimulating commentaries on contemporary political and social events, Love is in the Air is one of the most recognizable works by the brilliant graffiti artist and offers a simple message of hope. In the tradition of other historically iconic images that preceded it, such as Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, Warhol’s Marilyn or Alfred Leete’s Lord Kitchener Wants You poster, Love is in the Air has been imitated and replicated countless times in a testament to its visual strength and power. It is indisputable that this bold and powerful work helped to establish Banksy’s place in art history, cementing his reputation as a pivotal and universally heard artistic voice. In Love is in the Air, Banksy’s masked subject adopts the pose of a violent protester, moments away from hurling his weapon into the air towards an unseen enemy.

A PEACEFUL PROTESTOR OFFERS A FLOWER TO THE MILITARY POLICE AT THE ANTI-VIETNAM WAR PROTEST AT THE PENTAGON IN OCTOBER 1967

However, Banksy takes the viewer by surprise, including a bouquet of flowers where the viewer would expect to see a weapon, such as a hand-grenade, brick or bomb. The inclusion of a bouquet of flowers recalls the flower power movement and student protests in the United States and France in the 1960s, and the iconic images of young men and women meeting guns with flowers that have memorialized these events in popular memory. During the protests against the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, flowers became symbols of passive resistance and methods of non-violence, opposing the war and the atrocities it caused. With Love is in the Air, Banksy campaigns for peace rather than war, and evokes the notion of civil disobedience, highlighting the notion that weapons are not necessarily needed to achieve political or social change, and change can be achieved through non-violent means.

PLEASE CLICK ON ANY PICTURE BELOW TO ACCESS THE CATALOGUE ENTRY

1. Unique Works

Love is in the Air, 2005

Sotheby’s New-York: 12 May 2021
Estimated: USD 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
USD 12,903,000

Love is in the Air | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2005
Oil and spray paint on canvas
90×90 cm (35.4 x 36.4 inches)

Love Is In the Air (with stars), 2006

Sotheby’s New-York: 17 November 2022
Estimated: USD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
USD 1,159,200

Love Is In the Air (with stars) | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (B. 1974)
Love Is In the Air (with stars), 2006
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
42.5 x 43 cm (16 3/4 x 17 inches)
Tagged BANKSY (on the turning edge); signed BANKSY (on the reverse)

One of Banksy’s most iconic and immediately recognizable images, Love is in the Air (with stars) encapsulates the decisive social commentary and wit that typifes the artist’s highly acclaimed oeuvre. Entirely fresh to market, having been first acquired by Banksy’s primary dealer Steve Lazarides, the present work is an entirely unique iteration on Banksy’s iconic Flower Thrower series. Distinguished by its diamond shape and arch of red stars surrounding the iconic image of the flower thrower, the present work is the first diamond-shaped star thrower to appear at auction. The arch of red stars rendered in the present work serve as a resounding symbol of peace. Recalling the crown of stars usually hovering over renderings of the Virgin Mary and other Catholic saints, this art historical symbol is now most recognizable as the main insignia of the flag of the European Union. Here, Banksy has repurposed this instantly recognizable emblem and given it new meaning. Moreover, the tantalizing halo of red stars that encircle the figure, which creates an interesting and dynamic tension between the delicacy of the stencil and the brutality of the arc, acts as a roadmap for the flowers being thrown. The present work exposes the artist’s continued interest in the irrationality of the war, and the associated political extremism that can derive from unbalanced power dynamics. Embracing his role as a social commentator, Banksy uses the power of familiar symbols of both an arch of stars and a bouquet of flowers, which results in controversial and provocative images, to convey a political message. The artist reminds us of the injustice and inequality that persists in contemporary society, and provides a universal message for hope, advocating for peace and social change to overcome the conflicts that surround us. This highly demonstrative work contributed to establishing Banksy’s place in the history of art, securing his reputation as a cardinal and extensively heard voice.

Love is in the Air, 2003

Phillips London: 15 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 400,000 – 600,000
GBP 441,000 / USD 607,772

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 20 April 2021 | Phillips

BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2003
Spray paint on cardboard
68 x 67.5 cm (26.7 x 26.6 inches)

2. Editions/Series

Love Is In The Air, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 3,400,000 – 4,000,000
GBP 3,483,500 / USD 3,905,269

Love Is In The Air | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (B. 1974)
Love Is In The Air, 2006
Spray paint and oil on linen
91.5 x 91.5 cm (36×36 inches)
Tagged (on the overturn edge)
Signed Banksy, dated May 2006 and numbered AP 02 (on the overlap)

The richly colored, hand-painted flowers in the present work are a unique feature rarely seen in Banksy’s oeuvre. Their presence is reminiscent of the long tradition of floral still life paintings; yet unlike the floral arrangement in Medieval, Renaissance or 17^th century Dutch painting, the bouquet appears as though it has been snatched from a local gas station to be hurled at a foe amidst political turmoil. A prominent social commentator, Banksy draws on a classic trope and the ultimate reconciliatory symbol to juxtapose it with an incompatible reference in order to encapsulate the absurdity of war in a provocative image. Evoking the famous iteration of Chairman Mao’s portrait produced by Andy Warhol, in which he used technicolor inks to playfully transform Mao’s carefully controlled likeness, Banksy’s oil painted flowers poignantly contrast with the crispness of his signature quasi-mechanized stenciling technique.

Love is in the Air, 2002

Christie’s London: 13 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 500,000 – 700,000
GBP 567,000 / USD 635,650

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2002
Spray paint on canvas
21×18 inches (53.4 x 45.7 cm)
From a series, Tagged ‘Banksy’ (lower right)

Love is in the Air, 2006

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 27 April 2022
Estimated: HKD 40,000,000 – 60,000,000
HKD 51,273,000 / USD 6,508,768

Banksy 班克斯 | Love is in the Air 愛在空氣中 | Contemporary Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2006 
Oil and spray paint on canvas
91.4 x 91.4 cm (36×36 inches)

One of Banksy’s most celebrated works on canvas, Love is in the Air (2006), is further distinguished by the inclusion of hand-painted flowers in oil.

Love is in the Air, 2002

Christie’s London: 1 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 600,000 – 800,000
GBP 978,000
BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2002
Spray paint on canvas
17×17 inches (43.2 x 43.2 cm)
Executed in 2002, this work is a variant outside an edition of five

Love Is In The Air, 2006

Sotheby’s New-York: 18 November 2021
Estimated: USD 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
USD 8,077,200

Love is in the Air | The Now Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Love Is In The Air, 2006
Oil and spray paint on canvas
90×90 cm (35.4 x 35.4 inches)

One of Banksy’s most iconic and immediately recognizable images, Love is in the Air encapsulates the decisive social commentator and wry humor that typify the artist’s provocative and highly acclaimed oeuvre. In its original guerrilla iteration in Beit Sahour near the West Bank Barrier, Love is in the Air testifies to Banksy’s unique ability to activate urban environments and public architecture in a way that supercharges his message, lending his images a searing immediacy which extends far beyond all those who live in or visit the region, juxtaposing the active gesture of protest with the reconciliatory symbol of a Flower Bouquet. This anti-war sentiment is compounded by the work’s visual echoes of the flower power movement and the student protests which took place in France and American in the 60’s. The youthful subject throwing flowers as his weapon reminds us of the famous 1967 photograph of a young protester placing a flower in the barrel of a rifle pointed at his head during an anti-war demonstration. With this now-iconic image, Banksy offers us a universal message: that we must harness the virtues of peace in order to overcome the division and conflict that surround us and look ahead to a hopeful future.

The present work features a bouquet of flowers hand painted in oils by the artist, a unique feature rarely seen in Banksy’s oeuvre. The incorporation of these richly painted flowers brings to mind the long tradition of floral still life paintings; yet in typical Banksy fashion, these vivid blooms are a far cry from the somber beauty of a 17th century Dutch floral arrangement, or indeed the symbolic incorporation of flowers by Medieval, Renaissance and Victorian artists, but rather appear as if they may have been have been snatched from a local gas station to be hurled at an unseen enemy. Banksy understands his lineage as a social commentator and satirist and – much like Honoré Daumier and William Hogarth before him – uses the power of familiar symbols juxtaposed with incompatible references to create absurd and provocative images which convey potent political messages.

Love Is In The Air, 2002

Phillips New-York: 23 June 2021
Estimated: USD 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
USD 1,179,500

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary Ar… Lot 46 June 2021 | Phillips

BANKSY
Love Is In The Air, 2002
Spray-paint on canvas
20×17 inches (50.8 x 43.3 cm)
This work is number 4 from an edition of 5

​An icon of the 21st century, Banksy’s Love Is In The Air is one of the artist’s most recognizable images. Evoking the 1960s pacifist slogan “Make Love Not War,” the work is a symbol of peaceful resistance and an ode to spontaneity. Executed in 2002, the present work is from a discrete edition of five canvases Banksy created for his debut exhibition in Los Angeles, Existencillism, at the 33 1/3 Gallery in July 2002. Like Bernini’s David, in Love Is In The Air, a solitary protestor is captured just at the moment before climactic action. However the weapon of choice for Banksy’s figure is a bouquet of flowers. The stenciled image first appeared as graffiti in Jerusalem in 2003 shortly after the erection of the West Bank Wall. One of Banksy’s most sought-after images, Love Is In The Air is quintessential of Banksy’s tongue-and-cheek social critiques expressed through his signature graphic style. Across the various painted iterations of Love Is In The Air, Banksy varies the effect of the spray paint, showcasing different renderings of shadow, blur, and the figure’s bouquet. In the present work, the artist elongates the shadow between the figure’s legs and creates a prominent blurring effect to the image, at once evoking the speed of the protestor’s movement and the nature of memory. Creating a striking visual contrast with the rest of the composition, the touches of bright red allude the color’s dual significations of violence and love, encapsulating Banksy’s message for this iconic image—love as the ultimate weapon.

Monkeys

The chimpanzee or monkey is one of the most powerful motifs in Banksy’s arsenal. The present motif first made an appearance in 2001 in one of Banksy’s first ‘exhibitions’, a showing of work staged under a railway bridge on Rivington Street in Shoreditch. Slump-shouldered and forlorn, Banksy’s chimp offers viewers the following maxim: ‘Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge’. Cartoon comedy quickly turns into biting social critique in Banksy’s hands as he invokes Charles Darwin’s theory of man’s evolution.

Banksy’s monkeys then appeared in 2002 in a sprawling stenciled mural commissioned by a nightclub in Brighton, where ten stenciled chimpanzees stood one after the other in a militaristic row with each figure featuring a placard emblazoned with the phrase ‘Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge” It was from this work that subsequent versions of the forlorn-looking monkey were created, and consequently became one of the artist’s most iconic and widely disseminated images. In its successive incarnations, the chimpanzees are often paired with signage imparting pithy remarks that provide pejorative commentaries on a range of socio-political aspects of contemporary life.

BANKSY, DEVOLVED PARLIAMENT, 2009 / ARTWORK: © BANKSY 2021 DAVID EMENEY

From its first iteration, Banksy has mobilized the figure of the monkey with all its Darwinian associations of docility, inferiority and intellectual simplicity, as the perfect visual representation of the subordination of the masses. In this light, Keep it Real, can be understood as a critique of the authoritarian manipulation of the working class, despondent and suppressed under the forces of capitalism. Conversely Banksy’s chimpanzees, rather than inhabiting a purely docile existence, may also be seen as deviant and mischievous clever characters. It is through this duality of association, that the monkey has taken center stage in Banksy’s practice as one of the most widely recognizable motifs in the artist’s arsenal through which to represent both the dejected and disillusioned masses and the authoritarian figures of the establishment. From the earliest Monkey Detonator through to works that directly mock the establishment, notably the ambitious dystopian reimagining of the House of Commons run amok with irate chimps (Devolved Parliament, 2009), primates are Banksy’s most frequently called-upon symbol, as a means through which to mock and challenge perceived authority and the establishment. Indeed, the figure of the chimpanzee has remained central in the decades succeeding its inception.

PLEASE CLICK ON ANY PICTURE BELOW TO ACCESS THE CATALOGUE ENTRY

1. Unique Works

Laugh Now, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 29 June 2021
Estimated: GBP 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
GBP 2,435,000 / USD 3,371,975

Laugh Now | 《現在儘管笑吧》 | Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Laugh Now, 2006
Spray-paint on metal
129.5 x 91 cm (51 x 35.9 inches)

Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be in Charge, 2000

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 18 June 2021
Estimated: HKD 6,200,000 – 9,300,000
HKD 18,920,000 / USD 2,282,680

Banksy 班克斯 | Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be in Charge 現在儘管笑吧，終有一天我們將為主宰者 | Contemporary Curated: Asia | JAY CHOU x SOTHEBY’S | Evening Sale | | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

REPEAT SALE

Bonhams London: 29 June 2017
Estimated: GBP 120,000 – 180,000
GBP 293,000 / USD 380,445

Bonhams : Banksy (British, born 1975) Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be In Charge 2000

BANKSY
Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be in Charge, 2000
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
61×61 cm (24×24 inches)

Laugh Now Panel A, 2002

Phillips Hong-Kong: 8 June 2021
Estimated: HKD 22,000,000 – 32,000,000
HKD 24,450,000 / USD 3,150,813

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary Ar… Lot 22 June 2021 | Phillips

BANKSY
Laugh Now Panel A, 2002
Spray paint and emulsion on dry wall, in artist’s frame
178.5 x 74 cm (70.2 x 29.1 inches)

Laugh Now, 2002

Sotheby’s London: 13 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 400,000 – 600,000
GBP 862,000 / USD 1,184,391

Laugh Now | Contemporary Curated | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1975)
Laugh Now, 2002
Spray paint on canvas
30.5 x 30.5 cm (12×12 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s signature on the overturn
Signed on the reverse

2. Editions/Series

Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be In Charge, 2002

Phillips London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
GBP 1,172,000 / USD 1,313,901

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary… Lot 25 October 2022 | Phillips

Featuring one of notorious guerrilla artist Banksy’s most iconic and enduring images, Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be In Charge encapsulates the sharp wit and keenly satirical character of Banksy’s work. A nuanced composition, this important early iteration of the Laugh Now works has been executed in combinations of black and white spray paint against an unusual slate-grey ground using the artist’s signature stencil technique. Deceptively simple, the work communicates a powerful message in its stark economy. Although his shoulders slope under the burden of the sandwich board, his set jaw and subtly clenched fists indicate a spirit of defiant resistance in the face of his oppression, signaling an ominous warning of what is to come.

Monkey Detonator, 2000

Christie’s New-York: 8 November 2021
Estimated: USD 1,800,000 – 2,500,000
USD 2,190,000

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Monkey Detonator, 2000
Spray paint on canvas
30×30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm)
This work is from a varying series and is accompanied by original Metropolitan Police tag

Keep it Real, 2002

Sotheby’s London: 15 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 400,000 – 600,000
GBP 499,000 / USD 686,476

Keep It Real | Contemporary Art Day Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Keep It Real, 2003
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
30.5 x 30.5 cm (12×12 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s signature on the overturn edge
Numbered 10/15 on the stretcher
This work is number 10 from an edition of 15

One of Banksy’s most iconic and immediately recognizable images, Keep it Real encapsulates the artist’s biting sense of humor and cutting social satire. Rendered in Banksy’s signature graphic monochromatic visual language, the figure of the monkey appears apathetic, his lumbering shoulders slouched, his arms slack by his side and his heavy brow furrowed. Adorned with a sandwich board bearing the command ‘Keep it Real’, this enigmatic chimpanzee appears simultaneously as a figure of subservience and of domination, the perfect visual vehicle for Banksy’s cutting analyses of contemporary mass culture. Despite the cynical puns, witty punchlines, and an espousal of anti-taste and shock tactics, there is a sense of ambiguity that more often than not authentically challenges issues concerning representation and power structures in contemporary life. This is what makes his work so fascinating, appealing, and ultimately so enduring.

Rats

Hunted down by authorities, considered nuisances by society, and looked down upon by the establishment, Banksy and street art form an inextricably linked comradery with the rat; the dregs of society. By giving the figure of the rat visibility on the world stage, Banksy speaks for those oppressed and defeated by the endless competition and consumerism that exists in our capitalistic society.

The scourge of cities and urban dwellers, surviving against all the odds at the fringes of society and acting under cover of darkness – there is perhaps no other creature in Banksy’s familiar menagerie of animal avatars that better represents the furtive, underground activities of the street artist than the much-maligned rat. Inspiring a mixture of fear and loathing, rats – like graffiti artists – are fundamentally urban; resilient products of our modern, post-industrial societies, they also reflect certain unpleasant truths about the endless competition and consumerism that characterizes late-stage capitalism, and those that are continually oppressed and exploited by such systems.

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3D Rat, 2010

Heritage Auctions: 13 May 2025
Estimated: USD 200,000 – 300,000
USD 206,250

Banksy (b. 1974). 3D Rat, 2010. Spray paint and emulsion on board | Lot #77017 | Heritage Auctions

BANKSY (b. 1974)
3D Rat, 2010
Spray paint and emulsion on board with artist’s frame
40 x 30.2 cm (15-3/4 x 11-7/8 inches)
Ed. 1/6
Signed lower right: BAnKSY
Signed and numbered on the reverse: BAnKSY 1/6

Banksy, the enigmatic and anonymous graffiti artist, has attained a near-mythical status in both contemporary art and popular culture. His career began in the early 1990s on the streets of Bristol, England, where his signature stenciled aesthetic-sharp, satirical, and politically charged-first emerged. What began as local guerrilla graffiti soon evolved into a global phenomenon, with his works appearing in cities such as London, Los Angeles, and New York. Banksy’s pieces blur the line between vandalism and high art, prompting ongoing debate about authorship, authenticity, and the institutionalization of subversive expression. Ironically, although his works frequently critique capitalism, consumerism, and the art market itself, they now appear regularly at major auctions, commanding millions and drawing crowds of collectors and tourists alike.

Among Banksy’s most enduring and symbolically rich motifs is the rat. Rats have appeared throughout his oeuvre as metaphors for resilience, rebellion, and the experiences of marginalized populations. Some speculate that the rat also serves as an homage to Blek Le Rat, the Parisian street artist often credited with pioneering the stencil technique that Banksy would later popularize. Alongside chimps, rats feature in some of Banksy’s most recognizable and sought-after works, acting as visual shorthand for his broader critiques of power, authority, and societal norms.

3D Rat (2010)-also known as Dirty Rat or Stage Rat-is a notable example of this motif. It first appeared in 2010 on the stage door of the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah, coinciding with the Sundance Film Festival premiere of Banksy’s documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010). The Egyptian Theatre, a nonprofit cinema and live performance venue, offered an ideal canvas for Banksy’s creative expression: public, symbolic, and deeply intertwined with cultural spectacle. During this period, Banksy left several works scattered throughout Park City.

Rat with Scalpel, 2018

Bonhams London: 2 April 2025
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 114,700 / USD 148,240

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1974) Rat with Scalpel (Executed in 2018)

Rat and Heart, 2014

Phillips London: 10 October 2024
Estimated: GBP 300,000 – 500,000
GBP 317,500 / USD 415,925

Banksy – Modern & Contemporary Art E… Lot 34 October 2024 | Phillips

Amongst Banksy’s familiar menagerie of animal avatars, no other creature reflects the furtive, underground activities of the street artist more than the much-maligned rat. Fundamentally urban, rats, like graffiti artists, move through the city largely unseen, attracting derision and penalty from a society that looks at them with a mixture of fear and loathing. Despite being forced underground, as products of these modern, urban societies, the rat also reflects certain unpleasant truths about the endless competition and consumerism that characterizes late-stage capitalism, and those that are oppressed and exploited by such systems. Here, the titular rat has gnawed away at the board ground to reveal the shape of a heart, a metaphor perhaps for the love and kindness that we could all find if we looked below the surface, and a reminder that even the most unloved and misunderstood are deserving and capable of affection. Given the long-standing association between the rat and contagion we might even interpret this gesture as a call to arms, to let this more positive, affirming message of love and reconciliation spread through all levels of society.

Appearing in a range of different guises and often under slogans such as ‘Welcome to Hell’, ‘Tonight the Streets are Ours’, and ‘Get Out While You Can’, Banksy’s rats are messengers from the underworld, carrying stark warnings about the injustices and exploitation of modern life, felt especially keenly by those at the margins. In this respect, they also belong to a longer history of social critique, notably evoked by Albert Camus as carriers of a deeper, moral malaise in La Peste and as a vehicle for exploring humanity’s capacity for brutality in H.P. Lovecraft. For psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, they presented a compelling model for psychodynamic feelings of gnawing guilt and shame provoked by displaced but intrusive taboo thoughts in one of his more famous case studies. In all cases, it is the rat’s uncomfortable proximity to us that makes them such powerful carriers of our repressed fears and desires.

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, central panel (detail), 1490-1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid

Tellingly, in the context of street art, the rat has also been a prominent motif for French graffiti artist and ‘Father of stencil art’ Blek le Rat since the very outset of his career in 1981. Credited as the first artist to develop stencil graffiti away from basic lettering to incorporate more complex imagery, it was the rat – ‘the only free animal in the city’ – that the artist first took to the streets of Paris. For both Banksy and Blek le Rat the rodent personifies the covert operations of the street artist, working under cover of darkness and under constant threat from authorities who deem them to be a public menace, associations compounded by the appealing wordplay existing between ‘art’ and ‘rat’. The rat, like the street artist can expose uncomfortable truths about the world we live in and the systems that structure it, and yet Banksy’s stenciled rats also represent a playful and mischievous aspect of the artist’s guerilla activities, appearing frequently in dialogue with existing street furniture and signage, even making a chaotic and light-hearted appearance in the artist’s own home during the throes of the various pandemic lockdowns.

Exclamation Rat, 2003

Sotheby’s London: 18 April 2023
Estimated: GBP 220,000 – 320,000
GBP 279,400 / USD 346,995

Exclamation Rat | Contemporary Curated | 2023 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Exclamation Rat, 2003
Spray paint on canvas
40 x 30.5 cm (15 3/4 x 12 inches)
Tagged on the overturn edge

A mischievous example of Banksy’s satirical and highly sought after animal stencils, Exclamation Rat is an iconic image that encapsulates the artist’s rebellious visual language. A riff on the artist’s Gangsta Rat motif – with the addition of a bold red exclamation mark – the rat in the present work dons a chain and cap and is replete with a boombox, thus mimicking the underground street style prevalent in the late 1980s and 1990s. Gangsta Rat was reproduced as murals in Farringdon in 2004, Old Street in 2006 and New York City in 2013, becoming one of Banksy’s most recognizable street art tags. Exclamation Rat showcases Banksy’s distinctive use of stenciling; iconic for disrupting art historical convention. Given the importance of rats in the artist’s iconography, Banksy has completed a surprisingly few number of originals with the vermon as the main protagonist, making the present work a rare example of Banksy’s subversion of traditional canvas painting.

Banksy’s creative process is a nod to Warholian Pop Art portraits and the Duchampian ready-made. In order to produce his renegade site-specific works, the artist developed a staple stenciling technique to allow for lightning-quick application, without compromising the intricacy of the image. Banksy’s considered choice of stenciling as a mode of artistic production has significance beyond pragmatic considerations: the practice has long been associated with underground political movements and punk anti-establishment culture, as it enables visually striking images that can be reproduced quickly, cheaply and by anyone. This is thus the demystification and democratization of the art world, as Banksy underpins the notion that art should be for the people. The vandalizing impulse of his work -whether spray painting a street wall or defacing a masterpiece – ultimately serves as a mirror: we are quick to condemn such acts yet fail to recognize the numerous other ways in which we stifle our own society and culture.

Rat & Heart, 2014

Sotheby’s London: 3 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 500,000 – 700,000
GBP 579,600 / USD 772,079

Rat & Heart | Modern & Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Rat & Heart, 2014
Spray paint, emulsion and collage on board, in artist’s inner frame
27×36 cm (10 5/8 x 14 1/8 inches)
Signed and dedicated on the reverse

Love Rat on palette, 2003

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 28 April 2022
Estimated: HKD 6,000,000 – 9,000,000
HKD 6,300,000 / USD 802,916

Banksy 班克斯 | Love Rat on palette 愛鼠木板 | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Love Rat on palette, 2003
Spray paint on wooden palette
60×50 cm (23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches)

Gangsta Rat Peace, 2007

Phillips New-York: 24 June 2021
Estimated: USD 500,000 – 700,000
USD 529,200

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 350 June 2021 | Phillips

Animated and satirical, Banksy’s Gangsta Rat Peace, 2007, exemplifies the allusive artist’s dedication to social commentary and refined graffiti practice. Originally from Bristol, England, the street artist began utilizing stencils in 2000 as a means of quick reproduction to escape authorities while vandalizing the streets of London. Now, however, Banksy has embraced the once pragmatic technique as part of his trademark style.

One of Banksy’s most iconic and prolific subjects, the rat, an anagram for “art,” has taken on several different iterations, often assuming the role of a protestor holding up signs with phrases such as “Get Out While You Can” and “Because I’m Worthless.” While rats are typically associated with the grime of urban life and rejected by the larger public with disgust, Banksy gives the rodent an intriguing narrative. In Gangsta Rat, the subject pays homage to the urban art scene in the 1980s and 90s sporting a side-ways New York Mets hat and a thick chain while hoisting a boombox.

Loyal to his roots as a street artist, Banksy’s asserts his own critique of the art world through his art making.  Perhaps the most famously witnessed of his satirical stunts was his Crude Oils show in London in 2005. The show consisted of “re-mixed” masterpieces by Monet, Warhol and Van Gogh. Most outrageous was the accompaniment of about 200 live rats left to roam free throughout the exhibition—a physical manifestation of Banksy’s spray-painted rat infestation throughout the city of London.

On the reverse of this double-sided work, Bansky includes a print of his work Morons, which illustrates a room bursting with properly attired civilians of high society bidding on a work at auction that cheekily exclaims, “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit.” Blatantly deeming the piece unworthy of such a high price, Banksy pokes fun at the idea that his work, once viewed as vandalization, is now considered “high art.”

Radar Rat, 2002

Sotheby’s New-York: 13 May 2021
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 352,800

Radar Rat | Contemporary Art Day Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Radar Rat, 2002
Spray paint on cardboard
50.2 x 37.5 cm (19 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches)
This work is unique

Rendered in Banksy’s signature monochrome, stenciled style, Radar Rat is one of the mysterious street artist’s most prolific subjects. There is of course irony and satire embedded in Banksy’s depictions of the rat: the animal is emblematic of the urban landscape, and often met with disgust and fear. Here, however, Banksy shows the small creature from the streets as intelligent and discerning. First appearing in 2002, Banksy has since produced many variations of Radar Rat, from urban graffiti to paintings on canvas to bronze sculptures. The rat appears often in Banksy’s work, sometimes holding signs that read messages such as “Get Out While You Can” and “Welcome to Hell”; other times, painting a dripping red heart. The present lot is a unique iteration of Radar Rat, a singular format of the animal that iconically appears throughout his work. Radar Rat holds a tape recorder in one hand and a sonic radar in the other; he’s wearing headphones and looks past the viewer, over their left shoulder, intently. A master of surprising juxtapositions, Banksy’s satirical oeuvre has fueled his reception as a cultural phenomenon, with reach extending far beyond the art world alone. Radar Rat is an iconic image that utterly encapsulates Banksy’s mission, rife with parody and critique.

Crude Oils

In 2005, Banksy staged his first conventional gallery exhibition, the now seminal Crude Oils: A Gallery of Re-mixed Masterpieces, Vandalism and Vermin, a radical intervention in the traditional exhibition format that remains a defining moment in his career. Held in a disused shop on Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill, the show marked Banksy’s transition into a more formal gallery setting while maintaining the subversive ethos of his antics in the streets. Crude Oil (Vettriano) was prominently displayed in the window, immediately setting the tone for an exhibition that challenged the hierarchies of the art world. Now considered a milestone in the artist’s oeuvre, the show featured Crude Oil (Vettriano) alongside three other fully hand-painted ‘remixes’ of canonical works: a despondent, bloomless version of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers; a reinterpretation of Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks in which a Union Jack-clad hooligan shatters the bar’s glass window; and Show Me the Monet, a caustic reimagining of Claude Monet’s idyllic Japanese footbridge, transformed into a scene of contemporary detritus. Despite his immense popularity, Vettriano, much like Banksy, remains conspicuously absent from major institutional collections, a disconnect that sharply highlights the enduring schism between mass appeal and critical discord. For Banksy, this cultural paradox – where an artist’s work is revered by the public yet dismissed by the art world elite – has long served as a source of fascination and critique. By placing Vettriano’s The Singing Butler in direct dialogue with Van Gogh, Hopper, and Monet – artists firmly embedded in the institutional canon – Banksy staged a deliberate provocation, questioning the arbiters of taste and the exclusionary nature of the art establishment.

Across the gallery’s back wall of the shop, these large-scale reinterpretations were juxtaposed with a series of modified found paintings; traditional oil canvases sourced from flea markets and altered by Banksy to reflect the social anxieties of contemporary Britain. Quaint pastoral landscapes were interrupted by burning cars and police tape; a Renaissance Madonna and Christ child casually listened to an iPod; refined portrait sitters were recast as gas mask-clad figures. Further extending this anarchic approach, Banksy also ‘vandalised’ classical sculpture, transforming a serene Venus into a tattooed figure with a traffic cone over her head and outfitting a marble bust with a military-style balaclava. Yet perhaps the exhibition’s most outrageous gesture lay not in its visual content, but in its live component: 164 rats released into the space, their scurrying presence reinforcing the exhibition’s underlying spirit of disorder and defiance. Crude Oils was not simply an exhibition but an irreverent and punk manifesto, a statement that art, much like the rodents that roamed its floors, refuses to be contained by convention.

Louise Jury, “Rats to the Arts Establishment,” The Independent, 14 October 2005

In his Sunday Times Culture review of the 2005 exhibition, Waldemar Januszsak compared Banksy’s Crude Oils to a Surrealist or situationist happening, describing the production as an elaborate and engaging mise en scene: “So, the scene has been set, the evocation evoked. We’re in a dilapidated museum overrun by rats that have eaten the attendant and set a melodramatic post-Holocaust mood that continues into the paintings” (Waldemar Januszsak, ‘Who’s afraid of the big bad guy?’, The Sunday Times, 23 October 2005, p. 9).

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Crude Oil (Vettriano), 2005

Sotheby’s London: 4 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
GBP 4,260,000 / USD 5,452,800

Crude Oil (Vettriano) | Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Crude Oil (Vettriano), 2005
Oil on canvas, in artist’s frame
Canvas: 91×122 cm (35 7/8 x 48 inches)
Tagged (lower right)
Signed, partially titled and dated Oct 2005 (on the overturn edge)

“If you want to survive as a graffiti writer when you go indoors your only option is to carry on painting over things that don’t belong to you there either.”

Congestion Charge, 2004

Bonhams London: 29 June 2023
Estimated: GBP 1,200,000 – 1,800,000
GBP 1,681,900 / USD 2,121,735

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1974) Congestion Charge 2004

Sunflowers from Petrol Station, 2005

Christie’s New-York: 8 November 2021
Estimated: USD 12,000,000 – 18,000,000
USD 14,558,000

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Sunflowers from Petrol Station, 2005
Oil on canvas, in artist’s frame
102.6 x 87.5 cm (40.6 x 34.4 inches)

Vandalized Oils

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Subject to Availability, 2011

Sotheby’s Diriyah: 8 February 2025
Estimated: USD 800,000 – 1,200,000
USD 1,200,000

Subject to Availability | Origins | 2025 | Sotheby’s

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Subject to Availability, 2011
Oil and spray paint on canvas in an artist’s frame
50×91 cm (19 5/8 x 35 7/8 inches)
Signed Banksy (on the edge of the frame)

Home Sweet Home, 2006

Phillips London: 2 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 1,500,000 – 2,500,000
GBP 1,742,000 / USD 2,079,750

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 21 March 2023 | Phillips

Sorry The Lifestyle You Ordered Is Currently Out Of Stock, 2012

Phillips London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 1,200,000 – 1,800,000
GBP 1,837,500 / USD 2,059,975

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary… Lot 21 October 2022 | Phillips

This is Not a Photo Opportunity, 2007

Sotheby’s New-York: 19 May 2022
Estimated: USD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
USD 2,690,000 / USD 2,079,750

This is Not a Photo Opportunity | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
This is Not a Photo Opportunity, 2007
Spray paint on found oil painting, in artist’s frame
62×72 cm (24.1 x 28.1 inches)

Vandalised Oil (Choppers), 2005

Sotheby’s London: 3 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
GBP 4,384,900 / USD 5,861,382

Vandalised Oil (Choppers) | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Vandalised Oil (Choppers), 2005
Oil and spraypaint on canvas
94×61 cm (37×24 inches)

BANKSY
Subject to Availability, 2009
Oil on canvas, in artist’s frame
159.5 x 220.3cm (62.7 x 86.7 inches)

Taking place in one of the US’s most divisive cities – a city where glamour, wealth and celebrity is matched by an equal dose of crime, poverty and homelessness – this hugely ambitious and now legendary exhibition heralded the arrival of Banksy on the global stage.

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Happy Choppers, 2006

Phillips London: 5 March 2026
Estimated: GBP 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
GBP 1,520,000 / USD 2,030,570

Banksy Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale

REPEAT SALE

Creating A Stage: The Collection Of Marsha And Robin Williams
Sotheby’s New-York: 4 October 2018
Estimated: USD 400,000 – 600,000
USD 735,000

(#13) BANKSY | Happy Choppers

BANKSY
Happy Choppers, 2006
Spray paint and emulsion on canvas
126.9 x 182.9 cm (49-7/8 x 72 inches)
Stencilled ‘BANKSY’ lower right
Signed, numbered and dated ‘BANKSY 12/2/2006 1/3’ on the overlap
This work is number 1 from an edition of 3

Trolley Hunters, 2006

Sotheby’s New-York: 18 November 2021
Estimated: USD 5,000,000 – 7,000,000
USD 6,698,400

Trolley Hunters | The Now Evening Auction | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Trolley Hunters, 2006
Oil and emulsion on canvas
137×214 cm (53.9 x 84.2 inches)

Original Concept for Barely Legal Poster (after Demi Moore), 2006

Sotheby’s London: 27 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
GBP 2,677,000 / USD 3,672,657

Original Concept for Barely Legal Poster (after Demi Moore) |《法律灰色地帶之海報原創概念（模仿狄美·摩亞）》 | Modern Renaissance: A Cross-Category Sale | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY
Original Concept for Barely Legal Poster (after Demi Moore), 2006
Spray paint and emulsion on canvas
213 x 137.5 cm (83.9 x 54 inches)

Sale Ends Today, 2006

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 23 May 2021
Estimated: HKD 21,000,000 – 28,000,000
HKD 47,050,000 / USD 6,059,162

BANKSY (B. 1974) (christies.com)

BANKSY
Sale Ends Today, 2006
Oil on canvas
213.4 x 426.7cm (84×168 inches)

Youth and Innocence

Embodying innocence, hope, and an almost impossible to regain freedom of self-expression, the child is a recurring motif in Banksy’s work, familiar from his most iconic and immediately recognizable images. Drawing on this universal trope, the child is the perfect cipher for Banksy’s antiestablishment message, dramatically juxtaposing individual innocence with institutional corruption, income inequality with corporate greed and pointedly underscoring the uneven distribution of wealth and resources and the devastating human and generational impact of capitalist, neo-imperial economic ideologies played out on a global stage. Frequently referenced as the nation’s favorite artwork, Girl with Balloon is perhaps the most immediately obvious example of the multiple associations attached to the image of childhood while other works deal more directly with issues such as economic equality (Very Little Helps); the human cost of military force (Bomb Hugger, Napalm); government failure (Nola); and the social structures that foreshorten childhood, curbing imagination and play (No Ball Games, Jack and Jill).

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Kids on Guns, 2004

Phillips London: 6 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 400,000 – 600,000
GBP 508,000 / USD 650,240

Banksy – Modern & Contemporary Art Eve… Lot 17 March 2025 | Phillips

Forgive Us Our Trespassing, 2011

Phillips London: 13 October 2023
Estimated: GBP 2,200,000 – 2,800,000
GBP 2,710,000 / USD 3,288,885

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary… Lot 32 October 2023 | Phillips

Dorothy I Don’t Think…, 2011

Christie’s London: 28 June 2023
Estimated: GBP 600,000 – 800,000
GBP 1,008,000 / USD 1,273,530

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Dorothy I Don’t Think…, 2011
Spray paint on lino flooring laid on board
100×80 cm (39 3/8 x 31 1/2 inches)
Signed ‘BANKSY’ (lower right); signed and dated ‘BANKSY 11’ (on the reverse)

Kids on Guns, 2003

Phillips Hong-Kong: 1 December 2022
Estimated: HKD 8,500,000 – 12,000,000
HKD 7,147,000 / USD 915,700

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporar… Lot 26 December 2022 | Phillips

Angel Flack Jacket, 2009

Sotheby’s London: 15 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 504,000 / USD 563,445

Angel Flack Jacket | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Angel Flack Jacket, 2009
Spray paint on wood
244 x 82.8 cm (96 x 32 5/8 inches)
Signed and marked with the artist’s symbol on the reverse

Fallen Angel, 2008

Bonhams London: 13 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 227,100 / USD 252,095

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1975) Fallen Angel 2008

Fallen Angel combines all the masterful elements of Banksy’s practice in one work – vivid symbolism, an acute awareness of social issues and the dramatic chiaroscuro-like contrasts resulting from the artist’s stenciling technique. Much like the original public piece on Old Street which inspired the present work, the lit cigarette, crinkled clothes, and trainers on the individual shows that the Fallen Angel is in fact an ordinary person, not a divine being. This is Banksy’s empathetic manner of suggesting that anyone can have a fall from grace. The focus on an angelic figure is a mark of Banksy’s highly satirical genius; under Banksy’s hand, the figures of cherubs or putti from Renaissance and Baroque art are subverted from symbols of peace, prosperity, and joy to victims of modern poverty and subjects of societal denigration. Banksy deliberately used a heavier application of white spray paint on the head and shoulder of the crouched angel and used a lighter hand on the legs. Viewing the lower half of the scene, the figure almost seems to vanish from the audience’s gaze. The dramatic spot lit effect on the subject deepens this atmosphere of undue public judgement.Although most details of Banksy’s identity remain a mystery, the story of Fallen Angel provenance provides a first-hand glimpse into the artist’s sense of humor. The present work was gifted by the artist to the comedian Simon Evans after including one of Evans’ jokes alongside an illustration of the earlier, Old Street version of Fallen Angel in Existencilism. The joke as told on the stage goes ‘it is rather ironic… that the favorite drink of the homeless, should be a beer called Tennent’s’. Unlike the Old Street version, the present Fallen Angel includes Banksy’s signature on the lower right and is inscribed Thanks Simon ☮. The work was also sent with a handwritten note from Banksy, who jokes ‘Who said good things come to those who wait? “Average stencil garbage” is more like it’. This tongue-in-cheek and ironic wit is also evident when the reverse of Fallen Angel is viewed. It is executed on the back of a Morons Sepia print – one of Banksy’s most scathing yet commercially popular commentaries on the art world.

Diamond In The Rough, 2010

Christie’s New-York: 9 May 2022
Estimated: USD 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
USD 3,660,000

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Diamond In The Rough, 2010
Spray paint on truck door
192.7 x 93 x 10.2 cm (76x37x4 inches)

Bomb Love, 2002

Bonhams London: 15 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 300,000 – 400,000
GBP 562,750 / USD 681,930

Bonhams : Banksy (B. 1975) Bomb Love 2002

BANKSY
Bomb Love, 2002
Spray paint on canvas
25.4 x 20.3 cm (10×8 inches)

Bomb Love is pure Banksy: provocative, bitingly satirical and yet tender. Always a vicious opponent of mass media and casual consumerism the sense that today’s youth are being sold aggression instead of innocence, war instead of play explodes from the canvas in a flash of bubble-gum pink. The little girl sporting a ponytail tightly hugs onto the cumbersome military weapon as if it were her favourite cuddly toy and this is redolent of his Girl and Balloon in its whimsicality, and Kids on Guns in its wistful agony. All three images are stone cold classics by the artist coming from the zenith of the artist’s most celebrated period.

The image that first appeared as a black-and-white stencil on the streets of East London in 2001 has since become an iconic Banksy motif which is highly sought after by collectors. Executed on canvas and tagged with the artist’s distinctive signature, Bomb Love from 2002 is executed onto a rosy base color reminiscent of infanthood that enhances the motif and gives the work itself an innocent and naïve quality. Bomb Love is fresh to the market and whilst the artist later executed a print version of the popular subject, works on canvas from the series are rare at auction with the last comparable work having been offered over a decade ago. The artist’s empathetic and consistent dialogue within a contemporary global crisis is to be admired and there is an attractive irony to Banksy’s compassion. The hybrid street artist and social activist rose to prominence in the 1990s as a graffiti maverick, rejecting any form of government control. Banksy’s close encounters with the police in his early years led him to adopt his signature stencils; spraying onto a ready-made template allowed the artist to execute his works quickly, whilst sheltering behind his concealed identity. Executed in 2002, Bomb Love is a prime model of Banksy’s enduring anti-war art of the last two decades, and in keeping with the context of the sale, the work will be accompanied alongside another highly evocative Banksy piece from the same year, Rude Copper.

Gas Mask Boy, 2009

Phillips London: 15 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 1,600,000 – 2,000,000
GBP 2,200,500 / USD 3,032,660

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 21 April 2021 | Phillips

BANKSY
Gas Mask Boy, 2009
Spray paint and oil on wood
92.5 x 72 cm (36.4 x 28.4 inches)

Girl With Ice Cream on Palette, 2004

Bonhams London: 24 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 300,000 – 500,000
GBP 1,102,750 / USD 1,339,113

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1975) Girl With Ice Cream on Palette 2004

BANKSY
Girl With Ice Cream on Palette, 2004
Spray paint and emulsion on wood
59.7 x 50 cm (23.5 x 19.7 inches)

Girl with Ice Cream on Palette from 2004 is a rare example of Banksy’s stenciling style on found material which is not only entirely fresh to the market but also depicts one of the most playful and memorable images from his oeuvre, which first appeared at his major breakthrough exhibition Turf War in 2003. Not one to shy away from dark humor and pointed irony, Banksy takes a subject that evokes the fragility and innocence of childhood: a young girl resplendent in her polka-dot dress, her hair tied in plaits with a bow, gleefully holding an ice cream cone. That the cone contains a fizzing stick of dynamite, however, is Banksy’s dramatic punchline and typifies the flavor of his humor; a poignant reflection by the artist on the inevitable disillusionment that accompanies ageing and possible hopes for the future. In common with many of Banksy’s most successful works, Girl with Ice Cream on Palette intends to shock, yet it also aims to engender thought provoking discourse within a broader socio-political context.

Game Changer, 2020

Christie’s London: 22 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
GBP 16,758,000 / USD 23,114,480

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Game Changer, 2020
Oil on canvas
91×91 cm (35.9 x 35.9 inches)

Police

Satirizing familiar elements of popular culture to create novel, subversive imagery, the police force is among the motifs that Banksy has repeatedly returned to and ridiculed. Working under the cover of darkness and adopting an anonymous persona to avoid arrest, by its very nature Banksy’s graffiti has and continues to entangle the artist with law enforcement: a criminality that the street artist responds to with derisive irony.

PLEASE CLICK ON ANY PICTURE BELOW TO ACCESS THE CATALOGUE ENTRY

Vest, 2019

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 28 September 2025
Estimated: HKD 2,200,000 – 3,200,000
HKD 4,826,000 / USD 620,310

Banksy 班克斯 | Vest 防彈背心 | Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Vest, 2019
Acrylic on canvas, velcro and Plastazote foam
45x43x32 cm (17 3/4 x 16 7/8 x 12 5/8 inches)
Signed and numbered (on the reverse)

Vest, 2019

Sotheby’s London: 9 October 2024
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 780,000 / USD 1,021,800

Vest | Contemporary Evening Auction | 2024 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Vest, 2019
Acrylic on canvas, velcro and Plastazte foam
45x43x32 cm (17 3/4 x 16 7/8 x 12 5/8 inches)
Signed and numbered 1 (on the reverse)
This work is number 1 from an edition of 5

Untitled (Fuck the Police), 2000

Phillips London: 10 October 2024
Estimated: GBP 500,000 – 700,000
GBP 635,000 / USD 831,850

Banksy – Modern & Contemporary Art E… Lot 14 October 2024 | Phillips

REPEAT SALE

Bonhams London: 3 October 2019
Estimated: GBP 450,000 – 650,000
GBP 555,062 / USD 684,750

Bonhams : Banksy (British, b. 1975) Untitled (Fuck the Police) 2000

REPEAT SALE

Sotheby’s London: 11 February 2015
Estimated: GBP 180,000 – 250,000
GBP 209,000 / USD 318,310

(#363) Banksy

REPEAT SALE

Christie’s New-York: 14 May 2008
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 229,000

Banksy (b. 1975) , Untitled (Fuck the Police) | Christie’s

Police Car, 2003

Digard Auction: 12 December 2023
Estimated: EUR 300,000 – 500,000
EUR 364,000 / USD 393,725

BANKSY (Britannique, né en 1975) (digard.com)

BANKSY
Police Car, 2003
Spray paint and mixed media on cardboard
73×105 cm (28.7 x 41.3 inches)
Unique in this format

Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search, 2018

Phillips New-York: 17 May 2023
Estimated: USD 8,000,000 – 12,000,000
USD 9,724,500

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary Art… Lot 13 May 2023 | Phillips

Lost Children’s Sign from Glastonbury Festival (Sketch), 2005

Christie’s London: 25 March 2021
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 525,000 / USD 719,901

BANKSY, Lost Children’s Sign from Glastonbury Festival (Sketch) | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY
Lost Children’s Sign from Glastonbury Festival (Sketch), 2005
Spray paint on packing paper
89×81 cm (35 x 31 7/8 inches)
Signed and dated ‘BANKSY 2005’ (lower right)

In Banksy’s Lost Children’s Sign from Glastonbury Festival (Sketch) (2005), a grinning policeman bends down to light up a spliff in the mouth of a young girl. Created as part of an intervention at the 2005 Glastonbury Festival—which also included a tent lifted into the sky by helium balloons—it is an instantly recognisable example of the artist’s anti-establishment wit. This would not be the last time Banksy made an appearance at Glastonbury: in 2019, he created the iconic Union Jack stab-proof vest worn by rapper Stormzy for his headline performance on the Pyramid Stage.

Banksy has depicted policemen in many of his best-known images, including Snorting Copper and Kissing Coppers, which first appeared on walls in London and Brighton in 2005. In counterpart to these subverted authority figures, perhaps his most famed stencil of all is Girl with Balloon (2002), which resonates with viewers worldwide as an emblem of hope and innocence. Lost Children’s Sign from Glastonbury Festival (Sketch) juxtaposes these two central Banksy characters to create a striking satirical vision, with the long arm of the law made gleefully demonic. Banksy’s characteristic use of stencils, as seen in the present work, was first inspired by a run-in with the police at eighteen. Fleeing the Bristol constabulary one evening, he hid underneath a garbage truck where he studied the lettering on the side of the cabin door. Immersing himself in the thriving graffiti scene of his native city, he began to stencil on walls, trains and unlikely public spaces, working across the UK and the wider world as his ambition grew. His fascination with the motif of the police officer, in this regard, may be understood in relation to the apparent lawlessness of his own practice. Banksy himself preaches a utopian view of street art.

Other Series

Sorry the Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock, 2003-13

Sotheby’s New-York: 19 November 2025
Estimated: USD 800,000 – 1,200,000
USD 2,856,000

Sorry the Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock (Banksy defaced Hirst) | Contemporary Day Auction | 2025 | Sotheby’s

REPEAT SALE

Sotheby’s New-York: 28 October 2020
Estimated: USD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
USD 2,319,000

BANKSY (DEFACED HIRST) | SORRY THE LIFESTYLE YOU ORDERED IS CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK | Contemporary Art Evening Auction | 2020 | Sotheby’s

BANKSY (b. 1974) & DAMIEN HIRST
Sorry the Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock (Banksy defaced Hirst), 2003-13
Spray paint, emulsion and household gloss on canvas
99.1 x 114.3 cm (39×45 inches)
Signed by Banksy and Hirst and variously inscribed (on the reverse)

The Simpsons BANKSY Original Drawing, 2010

Heritage Auctions: 21 October 2025
No Estimates Provided
USD 168,000

The Simpsons BANKSY Original Drawing From “MoneyBART” (Fox, | Lot #17053 | Heritage Auctions

BANKSY
The Simpsons BANKSY Original Drawing, 2010
From “MoneyBART” (Fox, 2010)
Graphite on paper mounted on board
Image: 17.8 x 11.4 cm (7 x 4 1/2 inches)
Sheet: 8 1/2 x 6 inches
Signed BANKSY in pencil lower right
Inscribed “For Bonnie (heart) X” in pencil lower left

In 2010, the elusive British street artist BANKSY made a striking and controversial contribution to The Simpsons television series by creating and designing a special version of the show’s opening sequence. This episode, titled “MoneyBART” (Season 22, Episode MABF18), aired on October 10, 2010, and immediately captured public attention for its dark, satirical tone. BANKSY’s sequence begins with a fairly typical Simpsons intro but quickly descends into a bleak and dystopian portrayal of the mass production of Simpsons merchandise by emaciated workers; including children and assorted endangered animal species. Offered in this lot is an original one-of-a-kind signed work of art by BANKSY that replicates the final storyboard image from this iconic/notorious 3-minute opening.
The sequence culminates in a final shot of Fox Studios surrounded with razor-wire topped fences. The artwork is mounted on board and housed in a simple frame without glass that measures 11″ x 9″. A second dedication is handwritten on the back of the frame and reads “Thanks, Bonnie. You do a fine job – B”. On a fun note, the back of the frame which Banksy chose to house this priceless masterpiece still bears a Vermont Outlet price tag of $1.49. This drawing was gifted to Simpsons Producer Bonita Pietila by Banksy and delivered to her office on the 20th Century FOX Lot in 2010. It has been carefully stored ever since in a custom-made UV protected, plexiglass case which is included in the lot. This original artwork by the legendary street artist, political activist and film director, BANKSY, which replicates a notably controversial opening from television’s longest running scripted series, makes this lot the absolute apex of Simpsons collecting. Minor wear on the frame only. Artwork is in Very Good condition.
From the Personal Archive of The Simpsons Producer Bonita Pietila.

People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One, 2003

Bonhams London: 3 April 2025
Estimated: GBP 80,000 – 120,000
GBP 76,600 / USD 99,120

Bonhams : BANKSY (B. 1975) People Who Enjoy Waving Flags Don’t Deserve To Have One (Executed in 2003, this work is unique.)

The Leopard and Lamb, 2016

Phillips Hong-Kong: 31 May 2024
Estimated: HKD 18,000,000 – 28,000,000
HKD 36,750,000 / USD 4,704,903

Banksy – Modern & Contemporary Art Evenin… Lot 9 May 2024 | Phillips

Heavy Weaponry (On Multi-Colored Background), 2009

Christie’s London: 29 June 2023
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 195,300 / USD 246,373

BANKSY (christies.com)

BANKSY
Heavy Weaponry (On Multi-Colored Background), 2009
Spray-paint and acrylic on board, in artist’s frame
59.4 x 70 x 5.5 cm (23 3/8 x 27 1/2 x 2 1/8 inches)
Signed ‘BANKSY’ (lower right); signed and dated ‘BANKSY 09’ (on the reverse)
This work is from a varied series

Presented in an artist’s frame, Heavy Weaponry (On Multi-Colored Background) is a striking example of Banksy’s satirical and socially charged compositions. Executed in 2009, it is closely related to another version that featured in his landmark exhibition Banksy vs the Bristol Museum that same year. Rendered in his instantly recognizable hand-cut stencil technique, the work depicts an elephant charging across the picture plane with a missile strapped to its back. Behind the animal, brightly colored stripes recall a television error screen. Capturing the anti-war sentiment that has fueled some of Banksy’s best-known images, the motif of the armed elephant has recurred throughout his practice. First depicted in spray paint on fiberboard in 1998—against a colorful barcode labelled ‘Heavy Weaponry’—it was reimagined on canvas in 2000, spray-painted onto weathered iron in 2001, and depicted over another work, titled Radar Rat, on cardboard in 2002. Replete with biting humor and dark irony, the present work offers a refinement of Banksy’s original spray-painted motif, returning for the first time to the colorful background introduced a decade earlier.

With its elephant protagonist seemingly resigned to its fate, Heavy Weaponry condemns humankind’s propensity for destruction. In its bold, absurdist depiction of military drudgery, the work demonstrates the witty social and political commentary through which Banksy has sought to condemn mass violence. His seminal Love Is In The Air, painted on the West Bank barrier wall, railed against the need for conflict; so too did images such as ‘Bomb Hugger’ and Happy Choppers, which became poster images for protests against military action in the Middle East in 2003. In Heavy Weaponry, as in many of his other works, Banksy uses an animal as a stand-in for the people, here drawing a parallel between the ‘heaviness’ of the elephant and the gigantic missile strapped to its back. Elsewhere, works such as Monkey Detonator and Laugh Now had used monkeys to lampoon abuses of power, humorously satirizing our disregard for nature and the world around us. This rebellious, anti-establishment ethos permeates the present work, offering a powerful riposte to modern warfare.

Single Lane Ahead, 2011

Heritage Auctions: 30 March 2023
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 362,500

Banksy (b.1974). Single Lane Ahead, 2011. Spray enamel on street | Lot #66024 | Heritage Auctions (ha.com)

BANKSY (b.1974)
Single Lane Ahead, 2011
Spray enamel on street sign
119×119 cm (47×47 inches)
Metal pole: 238 cm high (91 inches)
Signed and dated on reverse: BANKSY / 2011

Single Lane Ahead is a testament to Banksy’s eponymous style and desire to create urban utopias, where artistic beauty is entrenched into drab urban landscapes. The hourglass, reminiscent of vintage computer ideograms, evokes vanitas themes, urging viewers to make the most of their precious time. It calls attention to the ephemerality of life and love and the historical context in which the work was created. The year 2011 was a significant inflection point palpably punctuated by escalating tech adoption and increasingly invasive digital media companies reshaping how people interacted with each other and experienced life as a whole: through avatars, online profiles, and computer screens. Amidst this environment, the work serves as a poignant reminder of how technology has permeated our everyday existence and emphasizes the significance of treasuring life and the individuals around us in an ever-accelerating, digitally driven world.

The road sign, a “found object,” serves as the backdrop for this work and adds to the allegory by symbolizing life’s journey as a single-lane roadway: whereby the path ahead is rigid, uncertain, and without a clear opportunity for deviation or disembarkation. Adding the heart cascading within the hourglass’ upper chamber imbues the image with a sense of urgency, emphasizing the need for caution and mindfulness on our journey. Banksy’s brilliant synthesis of the sign’s cautionary message and the hourglass metaphor compels us to slow down, unplug, and appreciate the splendor of real life and the people and moments that matter most. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles featured this significant piece at the groundbreaking “Art in the Streets” exhibition in 2011. Curated by Director Jeffrey Deitch and Associate Curators Roger Gastman and Aaron Rose, the exhibition showcased a range of influential artworks and was the first major U.S museum survey of graffiti and street art.

Warning Sign, 2006

Heritage Auctions: 30 March 2023
Estimated: USD 300,000 – 500,000
USD 362,500

Banksy (b. 1974). Warning Sign, 2006. Spray enamel on street sign. | Lot #66025 | Heritage Auctions (ha.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Warning Sign, 2006
Spray enamel on street sign
80×80 cm (31 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches)
Metal pole: 238 cm (94 inches) high
Signed on reverse: BANKSY

Banksy’s Warning Sign has become a powerful symbol of commemoration and remembrance in the wake of the September 11th attacks and the ongoing geopolitical turmoil that has followed. Created by the enigmatic British street artist, this provocative artwork is a testament to the enduring legacy of that fateful day and the lessons that we must never forget. Hailing from Bristol, England, Banksy’s real identity remains unknown to this day, adding to the allure of his defiant artworks that challenge societal norms and spark critical discourse. With a distinctive style that blends dark humor and subversive commentary, Banksy’s iconic artworks have cemented his legacy as one of our time’s most influential artists and political activists. Warning Sign which can be read in conjunction with Banksy’s archetypal provocative themes, serves instead, above all else, as a commemorative piece, honoring the lives lost and the sacrifices made on that unforgettable day. With its blend of social critique and artistic simplicity, the artwork embodies the spirit of Banksy’s oeuvre.

It is a call to action, urging us never to forget the lessons of the past and to continue working towards a more peaceful and just future. Whether viewed as a symbol of hope or a warning of the dangers that lie ahead, it is a work that demands to be seen and heard. Through its powerful imagery and potent message, Warning Sign serves as a reminder that even in the darkest of times, art can still inspire, heal, and unite. Using a road sign as a canvas, Banksy cleverly nods to the ubiquity of these symbols in our daily lives, underscoring the artwork’s impact. The artist’s distinctive style is immediately recognizable, lending the piece a potent immediacy. The use of a road sign also speaks to the idea of direction and movement, urging the viewer to proceed along what may be a hazardous route with caution. In this sense, the piece becomes a metaphor for the events of September 11th and their indisputable role as catalysts, reshaping the world as we know it and shifting its trajectory towards more uncertain times. As we continue to grapple with the legacy of that tragic day, may we look to works like Warning Sign for guidance and inspiration, never forgetting the lessons of the past as we strive towards a brighter future.

Brace Yourself!, 2010

Julien’s Auctions: 29 March 2023
Estimated: USD 600,000 – 800,000
USD 2,032,000

Julien’s Auctions (juliensauctions.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Brace Yourself!, 2010
Acrylic on canvas
244×183 cm (8×6 feet)
Signed and dated to the lower left center

Brace Yourself! depicts the Grin Reaper (aka Death) buckled into a carnival ride bumper car, across the hood of which is scrawled the caption “Brace Yourself!” Banksy created this artwork in 2010 for a local British band known as “Exit Through the Gift Shop”. The group’s name unfortunately happened to be the same title Banksy wanted to give to his about to be released street art movie. To avoid any confusion or copyright issues, Banksy offered the band an original painting in return for permanently changing their name. As promised, the painting would feature the group’s new name incorporated into a unique composition which they could then use freely to promote themselves.

The earliest examples of Banksy’s Grin Reaper motif appear in 2003, when his hometown of Bristol, a Reaper stencil painting was executed on the side of a ship used as an underground night club. that same year BANKSY designed a stencil featuring the Grin Reaper with a smiley face which was used on placards carried during an anti-war protest in England. Another example of the Reaper with a smiley face was later produced as a limited edition series of prints in 2005.

The same imagery featuring death in a bumper car would be adapted into a 3D Kinetic art installation which drew crowds in New-York City during Banksy’s 2013 “Better Out than In” residency. The installation was accompanied by an online audio track in which Banksy was quoted as saying that he wanted to make “a piece of art that would last forever about the importance of living in the moment.”

Abe Lincoln, 2008

Phillips Hong-Kong: 22 June 2022
Estimated: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
HKD 2,772,000 / USD 353,130

Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 152 June 2022 | Phillips

Executed in 2008, Abe Lincoln is one of Banksy’s most iconic images, stemming from a small series of three unique variations, each painted on cardboard. Rare to the market, this marks the first time an Abe Lincoln work has appeared at auction since 2018. In 2008, Banksy paid a visit to New Orleans in the United States following the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina three years prior. Leaving behind a trail of tags and trademark stencils, Banksy used the still-tattered streets and buildings as a backdrop for his poetic yet poignant critiques of the slow pace of reconstruction by officials.  One of the works he created was a stenciled rendering of former U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln. Spray-painted onto the wall of a damaged building at a major intersection, the site has since been demolished to make way for a healthcare facility.

Using the same stencil he would then employ for the three Abe Lincoln works on cardboard, including the present composition, Banksy’s site-specific version portrayed Lincoln as displaced person living on the streets, pushing a trolley full of possessions. Lincoln was the great figurehead of the emancipation movement which liberated the slaves of the Southern Sates, and in depicting Lincoln in a such a poorly advantaged position, Banksy showcases his sharp sense of satire in highlighting the shortcomings of Lincoln’s political descendants.

Abraham Lincoln photographed by Alexander Gardner during the Battle of Antietam, 1862

As one of the first American presidents to make use of photography to promote his image, in the years leading up to his first presidential election, photographs of Lincoln were widely disseminated to counter rumors of his unusual height and supposed ugliness, instead giving the candidate a more human aspect. Here, Banksy transforms the famous face of ‘Honest Abe’ into a ghoulish presence with pupil-less, ghostly eyes, overlayed by acid-green spots. Deflating the reverence that often surrounds Lincoln’s legacy, Banksy instead exhibits his satirical humor in taking the former president’s image and instead presenting him with comical, uncanny features, rendered in the artist’s signature graphic style.

Sculptures

Mickey Snake, 2015

Bonhams London: 16 April 2025
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 200,000
GBP 330,600 / USD 436,390

Bonhams : Banksy (born 1974) Mickey Snake, 2015 Snake 78 x 82 x 262cm (30 11/16 x 32 5/16 x 103 1/8in).Plinth 35 x 180cm (13 3/4 x 70 7/8in). (Executed in 2015, this work is from an edition of 5.)

Street Works

TV Girl, circa 2003/2004

Julien’s Auctions: 27 February 2025
Estimated: USD 200,000 – 300,000
USD 222,250

Banksy | “TV Girl” Original Berlin Germany Street Art Mural Painting

BANKSY (British, 1974)
TV Girl, circa 2003/2004
Original Berlin Germany Street Art Mural Painting
Aerosol on resin door panel
110×117 cm (46 x 43.5 inches)

A three-color aerosol stencil and freehand work depicting a young girl embracing a television set, on the screen of which appears an orange heart.

Executed by Banksy during his German tour of 2003/2004 (prior to the formation of Pest Control) on the door panels of a “Draco” transformer box originally located at a park on the corner of Gipsstrasse and Joachimstrasse in Berlin-Mitte. Signed by Banksy to lower right. With works by additional street artists, including a sticker reading “Kunst für Alle” (Art for All), a stenciled tag reading “Hype,” and an obscene remark directed specifically at Banksy.

Accompanied by a copy of a letter of provenance from the work crew that removed the panels for the city.

BANKSY Prints

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BANKSY Prints Auction Market Overview (2022/2025)