{"id":9347,"date":"2026-03-10T06:43:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T06:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/en\/?post_type=news&p=9347"},"modified":"2026-03-10T06:43:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T06:43:03","slug":"2020-10-04-6843","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.jwd-artspace.com\/en\/news\/2020-10-04-6843\/","title":{"rendered":"Banksy\u2019s Rapidly Rising Market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Overview<\/h3>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"\"\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n
\n\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t04 October 2020\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t
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Banksy\u2019s Rapidly Rising Market<\/h2>\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t<\/a>
Banksy has closely guarded his identity for decades, and he\u2019s also long played a uniquely active role in shaping the way his work is presented and sold. From the infamous\u00a0shredded\u00a0work at Sotheby\u2019s in 2018, to his publicly\u00a0denouncing and suing\u00a0organizers of unauthorized exhibitions, and a recent\u00a0trademark dispute\u00a0with a greeting card company, Banksy\u2019s public image as an irreverent, globetrotting trickster is sometimes at odds with his very concerted efforts to control the market for his work.
Those efforts often fall to\u00a0Pest Control, the firm that authenticates Banksy\u2019s works and sells them on the primary market. There is a vast economy of objects attributed or related to the artist circulating at all times, from exhibition posters to merchandise associated with specific projects like his hotel in Bethlehem. And, spurred by the rising prices, there is also a growing number of fakes.
But as far as major auction houses are concerned, the prints and unique works with certificates from Pest Control are the only truly authentic Banksy works\u2014and the\u00a0market for them\u00a0shows no signs of slowing.
<\/a>
A Banksy print bonanza<\/strong>
Recently, Sotheby\u2019s closed its third dedicated sale of Banksy prints. It achieved a price at least double its high estimate\u2014several sold for prices four, five, or even 10 times their high estimates. The sale\u2019s total take of \u00a32 million ($2.7 million) more than tripled its presale high estimate, and more than half of the buyers were buying from Sotheby\u2019s for the first time. The auction\u2019s top lot, a version of the iconic\u00a0Girl with Balloon<\/em>\u00a0(2004), elicited 24 bids that pushed it to more than five times its low estimate of \u00a380,000 ($103,000). It ultimately sold for \u00a3438,500 ($567,000).
\u201cWhen the consignor purchased it in 2004 from Pest Control, she told me she paid \u00a3275 [around $500],\u201d said Yessica Marks, a deputy director and senior prints specialist at Sotheby\u2019s in London. The collector got in touch with Sotheby\u2019s after reading about the 2018 shredding of another version of\u00a0Girl with Balloon<\/em>. \u201cShe called us to get an insurance valuation, and she was so shocked to learn that it was worth \u00a380,000 to \u00a3120,000, she decided to consign it.\u201d The decision paid off handsomely: In 16 years, the print\u2019s value had increased to nearly 1,600 times its original purchase price.
<\/a>
<\/a>
The \u201ciconic\u201d factor<\/strong>
The\u00a0Girl with Balloon<\/em>\u00a0print that sold had most of the hallmarks of a desirable Banksy work, especially a Banksy print. Most notably, it features one of his most beloved images, which emerged as the United Kingdom\u2019s\u00a0favorite artwork\u00a0in a 2017 poll.
A lot of Banksy prints you find are in good condition because they\u2019re fairly recent, but\u00a0Girl with Balloon<\/em>\u00a0was only worth \u00a3275 when it was issued in 2004, so it wasn\u2019t considered fine art as it is now, so you do sometimes see prints that haven\u2019t been looked after as well as they should have been.
Another factor that can influence the value of a Banksy is the seemingly endless cycle of news related to the artist and his work. The Sotheby\u2019s auction\u2019s opening lot, for instance, was a version of the famous work\u00a0Love Is in the Air\u00a0<\/em>(2003), depicting a protester about to throw a bouquet. The print elicited 37 bids and sold for \u00a3214,200 ($277,000), or more than 10 times its high estimate of \u00a320,000 ($25,000). Another factor is he hasn\u2019t made a print since 2017.
Typically, Banksy creates\u00a0two editions\u00a0based on each of his images. One is made in an edition of 150, with each one signed by the artist. These tend to be the more expensive editions. He also usually concurrently creates a larger edition of around 600 unsigned works. And lately, a third group of his prints have become especially popular and becoming more and more sought after. Banksy made 88 artist\u2019s proofs wherein each impression the balloon has a different color\u2014there\u2019s gold and purple and pink. A purple balloon was the top lot in an online-only auction of Banksy prints
Those artist\u2019s proofs with unique colors are.\u201d An artist\u2019s proof of\u00a0Girl with Balloon<\/em>\u00a0featuring
that ended today at Christie\u2019s, more than doubling its high estimate of \u00a3350,000 ($447,000) to sell for \u00a3791,250 (just over $1 million)\u2014a world record for a Banksy print.
From unique colors to unique works<\/strong>
Collectors operating in the upper echelons of the Banksy market are after the unique paintings and sculptures, which are rarer still than the artist\u2019s proofs. Last year at Sotheby\u2019s, his enormous painting\u00a0Devolved Parliament <\/em>(2009)\u00a0smashed\u00a0its high estimate of \u00a32 million ($2.4 million) to sell for \u00a39.8 million ($12.1 million), which remains Banksy\u2019s auction record.
This year, the auction house achieved his second-highest result when it sold the 2017 triptych\u00a0Mediterranean sea view <\/em>(2017)\u00a0for \u00a32.2 million ($2.8 million) in its\u00a0virtual \u201cRembrandt to Richter\u201d auction. Sotheby\u2019s is now angling to top this summer\u2019s result when it\u00a0offers\u00a0Show me the Monet<\/em>\u00a0(2005), on October 21st, with an estimate of \u00a33 million to \u00a35 million ($3.8 million\u2013$6.3 million). With the increasingly global appeal of Banksy\u2019s market, the virtual nature of that auction could mean Sotheby\u2019s will be seeing even more money for Banksy\u2019s\u00a0Monet<\/em>.
His appeal has spread across the globe, it\u2019s not just in Britain and Europe, noting a prevalence of buyers from the Middle East and Japan, which ultimately drew bidders from four continents.\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/section>\n\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"news_type":"news","gallery":[],"news_date":"2020-10-04","news_content":"<\/a>
Banksy has closely guarded his identity for decades, and he\u2019s also long played a uniquely active role in shaping the way his work is presented and sold. From the infamous\u00a0shredded\u00a0work at Sotheby\u2019s in 2018, to his publicly\u00a0denouncing and suing\u00a0organizers of unauthorized exhibitions, and a recent\u00a0trademark dispute\u00a0with a greeting card company, Banksy\u2019s public image as an irreverent, globetrotting trickster is sometimes at odds with his very concerted efforts to control the market for his work.
Those efforts often fall to\u00a0Pest Control, the firm that authenticates Banksy\u2019s works and sells them on the primary market. There is a vast economy of objects attributed or related to the artist circulating at all times, from exhibition posters to merchandise associated with specific projects like his hotel in Bethlehem. And, spurred by the rising prices, there is also a growing number of fakes.
But as far as major auction houses are concerned, the prints and unique works with certificates from Pest Control are the only truly authentic Banksy works\u2014and the\u00a0market for them\u00a0shows no signs of slowing.
<\/a>
A Banksy print bonanza<\/strong>
Recently, Sotheby\u2019s closed its third dedicated sale of Banksy prints. It achieved a price at least double its high estimate\u2014several sold for prices four, five, or even 10 times their high estimates. The sale\u2019s total take of \u00a32 million ($2.7 million) more than tripled its presale high estimate, and more than half of the buyers were buying from Sotheby\u2019s for the first time. The auction\u2019s top lot, a version of the iconic\u00a0Girl with Balloon<\/em>\u00a0(2004), elicited 24 bids that pushed it to more than five times its low estimate of \u00a380,000 ($103,000). It ultimately sold for \u00a3438,500 ($567,000).
\u201cWhen the consignor purchased it in 2004 from Pest Control, she told me she paid \u00a3275 [around $500],\u201d said Yessica Marks, a deputy director and senior prints specialist at Sotheby\u2019s in London. The collector got in touch with Sotheby\u2019s after reading about the 2018 shredding of another version of\u00a0Girl with Balloon<\/em>. \u201cShe called us to get an insurance valuation, and she was so shocked to learn that it was worth \u00a380,000 to \u00a3120,000, she decided to consign it.\u201d The decision paid off handsomely: In 16 years, the print\u2019s value had increased to nearly 1,600 times its original purchase price.
<\/a>
<\/a>
The \u201ciconic\u201d factor<\/strong>
The\u00a0Girl with Balloon<\/em>\u00a0print that sold had most of the hallmarks of a desirable Banksy work, especially a Banksy print. Most notably, it features one of his most beloved images, which emerged as the United Kingdom\u2019s\u00a0favorite artwork\u00a0in a 2017 poll.
A lot of Banksy prints you find are in good condition because they\u2019re fairly recent, but\u00a0Girl with Balloon<\/em>\u00a0was only worth \u00a3275 when it was issued in 2004, so it wasn\u2019t considered fine art as it is now, so you do sometimes see prints that haven\u2019t been looked after as well as they should have been.
Another factor that can influence the value of a Banksy is the seemingly endless cycle of news related to the artist and his work. The Sotheby\u2019s auction\u2019s opening lot, for instance, was a version of the famous work\u00a0Love Is in the Air\u00a0<\/em>(2003), depicting a protester about to throw a bouquet. The print elicited 37 bids and sold for \u00a3214,200 ($277,000), or more than 10 times its high estimate of \u00a320,000 ($25,000). Another factor is he hasn\u2019t made a print since 2017.
Typically, Banksy creates\u00a0two editions\u00a0based on each of his images. One is made in an edition of 150, with each one signed by the artist. These tend to be the more expensive editions. He also usually concurrently creates a larger edition of around 600 unsigned works. And lately, a third group of his prints have become especially popular and becoming more and more sought after. Banksy made 88 artist\u2019s proofs wherein each impression the balloon has a different color\u2014there\u2019s gold and purple and pink. A purple balloon was the top lot in an online-only auction of Banksy prints
Those artist\u2019s proofs with unique colors are.\u201d An artist\u2019s proof of\u00a0Girl with Balloon<\/em>\u00a0featuring
that ended today at Christie\u2019s, more than doubling its high estimate of \u00a3350,000 ($447,000) to sell for \u00a3791,250 (just over $1 million)\u2014a world record for a Banksy print.
From unique colors to unique works<\/strong>
Collectors operating in the upper echelons of the Banksy market are after the unique paintings and sculptures, which are rarer still than the artist\u2019s proofs. Last year at Sotheby\u2019s, his enormous painting\u00a0Devolved Parliament <\/em>(2009)\u00a0smashed\u00a0its high estimate of \u00a32 million ($2.4 million) to sell for \u00a39.8 million ($12.1 million), which remains Banksy\u2019s auction record.
This year, the auction house achieved his second-highest result when it sold the 2017 triptych\u00a0Mediterranean sea view <\/em>(2017)\u00a0for \u00a32.2 million ($2.8 million) in its\u00a0virtual \u201cRembrandt to Richter\u201d auction. Sotheby\u2019s is now angling to top this summer\u2019s result when it\u00a0offers\u00a0Show me the Monet<\/em>\u00a0(2005), on October 21st, with an estimate of \u00a33 million to \u00a35 million ($3.8 million\u2013$6.3 million). With the increasingly global appeal of Banksy\u2019s market, the virtual nature of that auction could mean Sotheby\u2019s will be seeing even more money for Banksy\u2019s\u00a0Monet<\/em>.
His appeal has spread across the globe, it\u2019s not just in Britain and Europe, noting a prevalence of buyers from the Middle East and Japan, which ultimately drew bidders from four continents.","news_cover_image":6827},"class_list":["post-9347","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jwd-artspace.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/9347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jwd-artspace.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jwd-artspace.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jwd-artspace.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}