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Grin Reaper (AP) - Signed Print by Banksy 2005 - MyArtBroker

Grin Reaper (AP)
Signed Print

Banksy

£70,000-£100,000Value Indicator

$140,000-$200,000 Value Indicator

$130,000-$180,000 Value Indicator

¥630,000-¥900,000 Value Indicator

80,000-120,000 Value Indicator

$680,000-$970,000 Value Indicator

¥13,420,000-¥19,160,000 Value Indicator

$90,000-$120,000 Value Indicator

AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

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Medium: Screenprint

Year: 2005

Size: H 72cm x W 44cm

Signed: Yes

Format: Signed Print

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Meaning & Analysis

Banksy’s Grin Reaper is amongst the earliest known street art works from the artist. The graffiti appeared around the Old street and Shoreditch neighbourhood in the early 2000s. Most of these works along with the original Reaper were covered up in London’s 2007 anti-graffiti sweep, however, Banksy reproduced the figure in a series of 300 in 2005. In Banksy’s Grin Reaper, the face of the Reaper has been replaced with a bright yellow ‘smiley face’, associated with 90s rave culture and also used by Banksy in other pieces, such as Flying Copper. Perhaps his regular use of this motif reveals how he spent his time in the early 1990s!

This print is black and white, except for the bright yellow of the reaper’s smiling face. The Reaper sits hunched, atop a clock. In his hand, is the Grim Reaper's symbolic scythe and his bare, skeletal feet are swinging over the clock face. The clock reads five minutes to midnight, which leads to speculation that this clock is, in fact, the Doomsday Clock; a visual metaphor representing the likelihood of a human made global catastrophe. The closer the hands get to midnight, the closer we are to the end of civilisation. Although the clock and Reaper are printed only in black and white on a grey background, the black cloak of the reaper is much more painterly than we tend to see with Banksy, giving it a depth of movement and realism often unseen in usual stencilled artworks.

  • Renowned British street artist, Banksy, is the enigmatic figure behind some of the most subversive works in the Urban Art scene. Despite his anonymity, the artists' disruptive stunts have not only gained him notoriety, but they have vocalised his stance on many social and political issues. As seen with the likes of Girl With Balloon and Napalm, Banksy uses his distinctive stencil technique to produce thought-provoking commentaries on challenging themes. The showcase of rebellion that lines his work has caused his secondary market value to soar in recent years, propelling him to the top of the Urban Art scene.

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