Few if any artists alive today command as much attention as BANKSY. Any new work attributed to the artist delights audiences and is beamed by news stations around the world. Quite simply BANKSY is a phenomenon and a very 21st Century phenomenon. His popularity has led to huge demand for his artwork. Fortunately, our humble pastime of collecting cinema posters has been sprinkled with some BANKSY magic via the release of his 2010 documentary ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’. In this article, we will discuss in broad terms how the market for BANKSY’s artworks, and the effect this has had on the value of posters for ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’.
BANKSY Single Edition Works
BANKSY produces art in many formats. He originally shot to fame through his spraypaint work. His oil paintings can be found in places such as the ‘Walled Off Hotel’ in Palestine while his sculptors have been used at exhibitions such as the Dismaland theme park. Much of this work is deemed non-commercial work, meaning the pieces have not been produced for sale. The artist feels they should not be owned by anyone. Some single editions oil paintings have been produced for sale. ‘Devolved Parliament’ and ‘Show Me the Monet’ are two examples which last sold for auction at £10 and £7.5m respectively.
BANKSY Screen Prints
BANKSY began producing screen prints to sell as ‘editions’ in 2002. Since then, he has produced about 50 different styles of prints (motives), which are brilliantly documented on Rikard Anderson’s website banksyunofficial.com. The colour schemes have been changed on some of these 50 motives increasing the number of unique prints to 150 according to the site. These 150 unique prints have been printed in runs ranging from 10 up to 1000 with a typical run printing 300 copies.
| Date | Auction House | Hammer Price |
| 04/12/2020 | Phillips | 75,000 GBP |
| 19/09/2019 | Sotheby’s | 30,000 GBP |
| 11/09/2008 | Christie’s | 2,375 GB |
Certificates of Authenticity for these screenprints can be provided by Pest Control ‘the legal guardian for the artist Banksy’. In the eyes of the art market a BANKSY print authenticated by Pest Control is genuine, anything else is a fake. This mechanism has reduced supply (by eliminating fakes) while increasing demand (through guaranteeing authenticity) causing prices to skyrocket. 600 copies of Pulp Fiction, the artwork that shows John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson holding bananas instead of guns, were printed. A copy sold at auction for 2,375 GBP in 2008. A copy sold for 75,000 GBP in 2020.
You may be reading this thinking that BANKSYs artwork is only attainable by very few people. However other avenues are open to collectors. Small statues are sold at the Walled Off Hotel while posters have been printed for Banksy exhibitions and of course the film ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’. Demand and prices for these other collectible posters have also surged.
Exit Through the Gift Shop Poster Styles
The Monkey Mask Style
This style of poster was used for the UK General Release of the film. The image can also be found on some Japanese posters and it was used for the French posters. The film is called ‘Faites Le Mer!’ in French. Two years ago, we bought and sold the quad in the photo for around £350. We are unable to find a copy for less than £1500 and its available on the website of ‘Steve Lazarides’, Banksy’s former agent and photographer who appears in ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’
The Rodent style
This style was used for US One Sheet posters and some Japanese posters. We currently have a One-Sheet Poster for ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ listed on our site. 18 months ago, these sold for £300-£400. A reasonably clean copy now prices for around £800. This doubling in value since 2019 is very much in line with the appreciation in value of BANKSY prints discussed above. This suggests that investing in an ‘Exit Through the Gift’ Shop poster is a great way to get exposure to BANKSY’s art without needing to spend more than £10,000 on the prints discussed above.
Withdrawn Mona Lisa Style
The Mona Lisa style was used in a portrait format in the US but the landscape layout in the quad captures the image much better in our opinion. This is also a very rare poster as it was withdrawn to be replaced by the monkey image before the film went on general release in the UK. A near mint copy of the Mona Lisa Exit Through Gift Shop Poster is available on our site and we cannot find another one for sale online. If you have questions about this poster or any other cinema posters please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
