The prints have been an essential part of Banksy’s “oeuvre”. The idea behind the printmaking is to provide affordable artwork for the broader public. The first regular print release was “Rude Copper” in 2002. Since then, 53 iconic motives have been used in the print process. Some of the motives have been printed in different colourways. If we include all of these colourways, the total count is approximately 125 different motives. The editions are relatively small, ranging from 10 to 1000, with 150 and 300 being the most common.

The grand total of signed prints is approximately 9,800, which is a small number compared to his peers. There are also approximately 20,000 unsigned prints, equally authentic as the signed ones, if they carry a COA from Pest Control Office. It sounds like a lot of prints, but it’s nothing compared to Hirst, Warhol, and other blue-chip artists’ print production.

Screen-printing works the same way as the stencils: the colour is applied onto the medium through acetate screens, one colour per screen. Unlike lithography and other printing methods, the motive ends up positive.  Making multicoloured screen prints is a sophisticated operation; it requires craftsmanship and time. One can say that every print is unique in the sense that there will always be slight differences within an edition. In charge of the printing operation was Ben Eine, an accomplished artist in his own right and one of the pillars of Team Banksy. 

Banksy’s handling office, Pest Control Office, has implemented a waterproof authentication system—every print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA), for short. The limited supply and the authentication system have created a dynamic market where some of the most coveted prints sell for well over 50,000 GBP on the secondary market—pieces bought and sold between collectors at auctions, dealers, or galleries. At the time of its initial release in the early 2000s, Banksy might have sold the same print for 49 GBP.

The following is a simplified retrospective of all the prints Banksy has produced through the years. It only reflects the motive and the year it was released, but it gives a sense of how Banksy evolved artistically during the 2000s.

Banksy print release 2002

Print releases 2003

Print releases 2004

Print releases 2005

Print releases 2006

Print releases 2007

Print releases 2008

Print releases 2009

 

Print release 2010

Choose your weapon – One of 22 different colourways with an edition of 25 each

Print release 2012

Print release 2014

Print releases 2019

Print release 2022

The Warhol-inspired “Tesco Soup Can” comes in 28 colourways, and the Keith Haring tribute “Choose Your Weapon” comes in 22 combinations. “No Ball Games”, “Kate Moss”, and “Nola” are some other prints with different colour variations.

Several other motives have been released in slightly different versions. Examples are the prints released at the Barely Legal exhibition in 2006. These earlier versions of Morons, Applause, Trolleys and Grannies go under “LA Editions”. The year after, there were releases of the same prints in London but with some variations.

The last regular prints released were the “Thrower” triptych and the Jean Michel Basquiat-inspired “Banksquiat” in 2019. Both in editions of 300.