From shredded paintings to political masterpieces, these are the 10 highest auction results for Banksy and the works that continue to shape the contemporary art market.
Few contemporary artists have transformed the auction market quite like Banksy. What began as anonymous stencil interventions on city walls has evolved into one of the most commercially powerful bodies of work in contemporary art, with collectors now spending tens of millions to secure the artist’s most iconic images.
From Love Is in the Bin shredding itself moments after selling at Sotheby’s to Game Changer raising millions for healthcare charities during the pandemic, Banksy’s auction history has repeatedly blurred the line between spectacle, activism, and market phenomenon.
Today, works including Devolved Parliament, Show Me The Monet, and Sunflowers From Petrol Station have firmly positioned Banksy among the highest-selling contemporary artists in the world.
Here are the 10 highest auction results for Banksy to date.
Banksy Shreds ‘Girl with Balloon’ Painting in Sotheby’s Auction Stunt, London 2018. Image © Banksy / Sotheby’s Auction House.
1. Love Is in the Bin Sells for £18.6M
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.
Banksy Shreds ‘Girl with Balloon’ Painting in Sotheby’s Auction Stunt, London 2018. Image © Banksy / Sotheby’s Auction House.
Love Is In The Bin (2018) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s London 2021.
2. Game Changer Sells for £16.8M
Banksy’s Game Changer became one of the defining artworks of the COVID-19 era.
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.
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.
Game Changer (2020) by Banksy. Image © Christie’s London.
3. Sunflowers From Petrol Station Sells for £10.7M
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.
Sunflowers from Petrol Station by Banksy. Image © Christie’s New York.
4. Devolved Parliament Sells for £9.9M
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.
Devolved Parliament (2009) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s London 2019.
5. Love Is in the Air Sells for £9.2M
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.
Love is in the Air (2005) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s New York 2021.
6. Banksquiat Boy and Dog in Stop and Search Sells for £7.8M
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.
The work later appeared at Phillips New York in 2023, where it sold for £7.8 million, becoming one of Banksy’s strongest auction performers in recent years.
Like much of Banksy’s work, the image balances humour, discomfort, and institutional critique within a deceptively simple composition.
Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search by Banksy 2018. Image © Phillip’s New York 2023.
7. Show Me The Monet Sells for £7.6M
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.
Show Me The Monet (2005) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s London 2020.
8. Forgive Us Our Trespassing Sells for £6.3M
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.
Forgive Us Our Trespassing (2011) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s Hong Kong 2020.
9. Love Is in the Air Sells for £6M
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.
Love is in the Air (2006) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s New York 2021.
10. Trolley Hunters Sells for £5M
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.
Like many of the artist’s strongest works, the humour lands immediately while the criticism lingers underneath.
Trolley Hunters (2006) by Banksy. Image © Sotheby’s New York 2021.
Banksy’s Market Continues to Evolve
Banksy remains one of the most commercially successful and culturally recognisable contemporary artists in the world.
From Love Is in the Bin to Game Changer, the artist’s strongest works continue to generate extraordinary auction results while shaping wider conversations around street art, politics, protest, and contemporary culture.
With Girl and Balloon on Found Landscape now returning to auction with an estimate of up to US $18 million, demand surrounding Banksy’s most iconic imagery shows little sign of slowing down.
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.
Browse our curated collection of Pest Control authenticated Banksy artworks and collectables online, or contact our team for private sourcing enquiries and available works.
Photos © Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips Auction Houses. The sale price includes the hammer price, buyer’s premium, and any other additional fees (e.g., Artist’s Resale Rights).