Banksy Auction Results: The 10 Highest Prices Ever Achieved
Banksy has become one of the most influential and culturally recognisable artists of the 21st century, with collectors spending tens of millions on the artist’s most iconic works.
Banksy Shreds ‘Girl with Balloon’ Painting in Sotheby’s Auction Stunt, London 2018. Image © Banksy / Sotheby’s Auction House.
From Love Is in the Bin shredding itself moments after selling at Sotheby’s to politically charged paintings like Devolved Parliament and Game Changer, Banksy’s auction history continues to blur the line between spectacle, activism, and blue-chip collecting.
Ahead of the highly anticipated sale of Girl and Balloon on Found Landscape, we take a look at the ten highest auction results for Banksy to date.
All prices listed below reflect the final sale price achieved at auction, including buyer’s premium and associated fees where applicable.
10.
Trolley Hunters
Trolley Hunters (2006) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s New York 2021.
Originally featured in Banksy’s landmark Barely Legal exhibition in Los Angeles, Trolley Hunters satirises modern consumer culture through the image of prehistoric hunters stalking shopping carts instead of animals.
When the work appeared at Sotheby’s New York in 2021, it sold for £5 million, reinforcing continued collector demand for Banksy’s early political paintings.
9.
Love Is in the Air
Love is in the Air (2006) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s New York 2021.
Another version of Banksy’s iconic flower-throwing protester entered the auction spotlight when it appeared at Sotheby’s New York in 2021. The image continues to resonate because of its direct visual language, transforming protest into something poetic while retaining its political tension.
The painting eventually sold for £6 million.
8.
Forgive Us Our Trespassing
Forgive Us Our Trespassing (2011) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s Hong Kong 2020.
One of Banksy’s largest known works, Forgive Us Our Trespassing depicts a kneeling child before a stained-glass-style graffiti backdrop. Created with the help of schoolchildren in Los Angeles, the work explores themes of rebellion, faith, youth culture, and graffiti itself.
When the painting appeared at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2020, it sold for £6.3 million.
7.
Show Me The Monet
Show Me The Monet (2005) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s London 2020.
Part of Banksy’s Crude Oils series, Show Me The Monet reimagines Monet’s peaceful water lilies as a polluted dumping ground filled with shopping trolleys and traffic cones. Originally exhibited in 2005, the work later appeared at Sotheby’s London in 2020, where it sold for £7.6 million.
The painting remains one of Banksy’s sharpest critiques of consumer culture and environmental collapse.
6.
Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search
Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search by Banksy 2018. Image © Phillip’s New York 2023.
Created alongside the Barbican’s major Basquiat exhibition in London, this painting pays tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat while confronting racial profiling and police surveillance. Like much of Banksy’s work, the image balances humour, discomfort, and institutional critique within a deceptively simple composition.
The work later appeared at Phillips New York in 2023, where it sold for £7.8 million.
5.
Love Is in the Air
Love is in the Air (2005) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s New York 2021.
Also known as Flower Thrower, Love Is in the Air remains one of Banksy’s defining anti-war images. Created near the West Bank barrier, the work transforms an act of confrontation into something unexpectedly peaceful, replacing a weapon with a bouquet of flowers.
When the painting appeared at Sotheby’s New York in 2021, the sale made headlines after bidders were offered the option to pay in cryptocurrency. The work eventually sold for £9.2 million.
4.
Devolved Parliament
Devolved Parliament (2009) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s London 2019.
Banksy’s Devolved Parliament remains one of the artist’s most recognisable political works. The monumental painting, which replaces British politicians with chimpanzees inside the House of Commons, first appeared at Banksy’s landmark exhibition at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery in 2009.
A decade later, the work arrived at Sotheby’s London in 2019 during the height of Brexit tensions and sold for £9.9 million, setting a new auction record for Banksy at the time.
3.
Sunflowers From Petrol Station
Sunflowers from Petrol Station by Banksy. Image © Christie’s New York 2021.
When Sunflowers From Petrol Station appeared at Christie’s in New York in 2021, it further cemented the market strength surrounding Banksy’s Crude Oils paintings.
Originally shown during the artist’s influential 2005 Crude Oils exhibition, the work reimagines Van Gogh’s famous Sunflowers using dried, lifeless blooms gathered from a petrol station forecourt.
The painting eventually sold for £10.7 million.
2.
Game Changer
Game Changer (2020) by Banksy. Image © Christie’s London 2021.
Banksy’s Game Changer became one of the defining artworks of the COVID-19 era. The work depicts a child choosing a nurse as their superhero while Batman and Spider-Man sit discarded nearby, transforming a simple image into a tribute to healthcare workers during the pandemic.
First displayed at University Hospital Southampton, the painting later appeared at Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale in London in 2021, where it sold for £16.8 million, with proceeds supporting NHS charities.
1.
Love Is in the Bin
Love Is In The Bin (2018) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s London 2021.
No Banksy sale has reshaped the contemporary auction world quite like Love Is in the Bin. Originally sold as Girl with Balloon during Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London in 2018, the artwork partially shredded itself moments after the hammer fell, instantly becoming one of the most infamous moments in auction history. Rather than destroying the work, the performance transformed it into something entirely new.
When the piece returned to Sotheby’s London in 2021, it sold for £18.6 million, almost twenty times its original sale price.
New Banksy Heads to Auction
The 2012 work Girl and Balloon on Found Landscape will headline an upcoming Fair Warning auction and will be offered during an invite-only live auction at Tiffany & Co.’s flagship store in New York 2026.
Banksy remains one of the most influential and culturally recognisable artists of the 21st century, with the artist’s most important works continuing to achieve extraordinary results at auction.
Ahead of the highly anticipated Fair Warning sale of Girl and Balloon on Found Landscape at Tiffany & Co.’s Landmark store in New York this Wednesday, interest surrounding Banksy’s market has intensified once again. Carrying an estimate of £9.75 million to £13.5 million (US $13 million to $18 million), the painting is expected to rank among the highest auction results ever achieved for a Banksy work if it reaches its upper estimate.
From Love Is in the Bin to Game Changer, Banksy’s strongest works continue to reinforce the artist’s unique position within the contemporary art market, while demand surrounding the artist’s most iconic imagery shows little sign of slowing down.
Authenticated Banksy Artworks at GraffitiStreet
Banksy’s NOLA (Green/Blue), Grin Reaper, and Trolleys (B&W) on view at the GraffitiStreet gallery in Chichester, England. Image © GraffitiStreet
Discover our curated collection of Pest Control authenticated Banksy artworks and collectables at our gallery in Chichester, England, or explore the full selection online.
From sought-after editions to rare originals and sold-out releases, GraffitiStreet also offers private sourcing services for collectors looking to acquire significant works by Banksy.