The prints have been an essential part of Banksy’s “oeuvre”. The idea behind printmaking is to provide affordable artwork for the broader public. The first regular print release was “Rude Copper” in 2002. Since then, 53 iconic motifs have been used in the print process. Some of the motifs have been printed in different colourways. Including all these colourways, the total count is approximately 125 different motifs. Editions are relatively small, ranging from 10 to 1000, with 150 and 300 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 the 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 stencilling: the colour is applied to the medium through acetate screens, one colour per screen. Unlike lithography and other printing methods, the motif 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. Ben Eine, an accomplished artist in his own right and one of the pillars of Team Banksy, oversaw the printing operation until 2008.
Banksy’s handling office, Pest Control Office, has implemented a waterproof authentication system—every print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA). The limited supply and the authentication system have created a dynamic market where some of the most coveted prints sell for well over 100,000 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 reflects only the motif and release year, 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 motifs 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 following year, the same prints were released in London, with some variations.
The last regular prints released were the “Thrower” triptych and the Jean-Michel Basquiat-inspired “Banksquiat” in 2019. Both were in editions of 300.
