S otheby’s biannual Banksy sale, dedicated to Britain’s most sensational living artist, is open for bidding 20-26 April 2022. This much-anticipated auction surveys the activist’s groundbreaking work with a selection of prints from his initial foray into screenprinting to one of his more recent editions, Thrower (Grey). Highlights include a rare Girl with Balloon – Colour AP (Purple), a signed impression of Love is in the Air, and interesting colourways of iconic subjects from Nola to Choose Your Weapon.
Auction Highlights
Banksy’s iconic Girl with Balloon is one of the most widely recognizable images in existence. One of only 88 artist’s proofs printed in different colours, this screenprint featuring the rare purple balloon is a highly coveted variant of the artist’s most celebrated motif.
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- 2002
- December 2002
- July 2003
- September 2006
- October 2006
- November 2010
- 2019
- July 2020
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Girl with BalloonLater immortalised by the highly sought-after edition of screenprints, Banksy’s beloved Girl With Balloon appeared for the first time as a mural, stencilled on the walls under Waterloo Bridge at London’s Southbank in 2002.
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Santa’s GhettoDescribed as a ‘squat art concept store’, Santa’s Ghetto was Banksy’s yearly Christmas pop-up exhibition. During each of the exhibitions, Banksy published a number of new editions, such as Happy Choppers and Jack and Jill.
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Turf WarBanksy’s first major solo show took place in a disused warehouse in East London. Dubbed, ‘one of England's best - and briefest - shows this season’, it was on for two days before the police shut it down. A pivotal moment in the artist’s career – it was here that he debuted the subjects that would later become some of his seminal works, including Laugh Now and Toxic Mary.
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Barely LegalBarely Legal took place in September 2006; it marked the artist’s first large-scale exhibition in the United States. For the occasion, Banksy created a set of six works that were baptised: the Barely Legal Print Set, including Sale Ends. The show revealed the artist’s social and political criticism and his mockery of consumerist society most particularly.
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Crude OilsIn 2006, Banksy exhibited a group of works playing on paintings of iconic artists such as Claude Monet and Andy Warhol. This “Gallery of re-mixed masterpieces, vandalism and vermin” opened its doors for just a few days in London’s Notting Hill, featuring Banksy’s Kate Moss as the 21st century’s Marilyn Monroe.
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Marks & StencilsAmong the highlights of this pop-up exhibition posing as a familiar high-street store, was the release of Banksy’s Choose Your Weapon print. The stencil, an homage to fellow street artist Keith Haring, first appeared and promptly disappeared just a month prior in the streets of London.
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Thrower (Grey)
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If you don’t mask – you don’t getAs London descended into lockdown, an underground train was covered in stencils of rats wearing masks, raising awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic. Once again the vermin imagery is employed by Banksy to spread the word, following in the footsteps of the iconic Love Rat, created in 2004.
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Join us after hours to celebrate an evening of Modern & Contemporary Art and Diego Maradona's ‘The Hand of God’ World Cup Match Worn Shirt.