Provenance
Pest Control, London
Exhibited
Bristol, Bristol Museum, Banksy Versus Bristol Museum, 13 June - 31 August 2009
Catalogue Essay
“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” BANKSY

One of the most prominent yet also elusive figures in British art, Banksy has drawn as much praise as he has criticism. While many consider him to be a figure that has successfully brought into question what we as a society appreciate as art, others view him as little more than an aggrandized vandal. Indeed during the artist’s well-covered residency in New York, much of his art was in fact destroyed by federal authorities.

Having initially won acclaim in the early 2000s for his graffiti work, Banksy has since gone on to deploy a wide variety of media, ranging from animatronics to live performers. In his playful and direct style, the artist addresses perceived woes in society, making for gripping and provoking pieces.

He is a master of the surprising juxtaposition and this is perfectly encapsulated by Happy Shopper, a piece which featured in the acclaimed 2009 show ‘Banksy versus Bristol Museum’, where it held pride of place in the main entrance hall. "Some of the fake historical relics I’ve inserted among Bristol’s permanent collection should be entertaining — you can’t tell what’s truth and what’s fiction. It’ll be like walking through a real-life Wikipedia".

Taking a classical statue from the museum as his model, Banksy mischievously adapts the figure, festooning the statue’s arms with shopping bags and placing a pair of over-sized sunglasses on the face. The effect is both startling and highly amusing. Were it not for her antique drapery, one would be forgiven for seeing this statue as a present day character - a Paris Hilton or Victoria Beckham of sorts.

Despite its playful nature, the work carries an undeniable cynical edge. The mass of bags the figure is carrying points to an unquenchable desire for material goods, the stoic features of the sculpture meanwhile suggesting a glazed dissatisfaction. Clearly Banks is making a direct dig at consumerist culture through this piece. ‘Banksy versus Bristol Museum’ was not the first time that Banksy infiltrated his art into public collections (in 2003 the artist infamously smuggled his work into the Tate Britain where it went unnoticed for hours) however, the Bristol exhibition and the pieces the artist produced for it, may be understood as holding particular personal significance to the artist since Bristol is thought to be his home town.

With its focus on contemporary culture and mass consumerism, Banksy’s work holds a place besides the art of Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Like these artists he has achieved icon status. Rebellious and contentious though he may be, Banksy is undoubtedly an artist that has shaped the face of contemporary art.
Artist Biography
Banksy
British • 1975 - N/A
Anonymous street artist Banksy first turned to graffiti as a miserable fourteen year old disillusioned with school. Inspired by the thriving graffiti community in his home city, Bristol, Banksy's works began appearing on trains and walls in 1993, and by 2001 his blocky, spray-painted works had cropped up all over the United Kingdom. Typically crafting his images with spray paint and cardboard stencils, Banksy is able to achieve a meticulous level of detail. His aesthetic is clean and instantly readable due to his knack for reducing complex political and social statements to simple visual elements.

His graffiti, paintings and screenprints use whimsy and humour to satirically critique war, capitalism, hypocrisy and greed — with not even the Royal family safe from his anti-establishment wit.
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25

Banksy

Happy Shopper

2009
birch faced ply, cast jesmonite
238.5 x 116 x 74 cm. (93 7/8 x 45 5/8 x 29 1/8 in.)
Signed 'BANKSY' on the reverse. This work is unique and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Pest Control.

Estimate
£200,000 - 300,000 ‡♠

Sold for £506,500

Contact Specialist
Peter Sumner
Head of Contemporary Art, London
psumner@phillips.com
+44 207 318 4063

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

London Evening Sale 10 February 2014 7pm

1
Fredrik Værslev
Untitled (Frieze Garden Painting #02)
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ♠
Sold for £48,750
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2
Lucien Smith
Feet in the Water
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ‡
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3
Adam McEwen
Rite Aid
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 ♠†
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4
Urs Fischer
Nail Duo
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5
Dan Colen
It's Only Natural (The Replacement)
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6
Nate Lowman
Untitled Marilyn #13
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7
Sterling Ruby
SP56
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8
Christopher Wool
Untitled
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9
Andreas Gursky
Ocean IV
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ♠
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10
Rosemarie Trockel
Untitled
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡♠
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11
Yayoi Kusama
Infinity Nets OPQR
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12
Urs Fischer
Cutting a Cake with a Hammer
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13
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate £350,000 - 450,000 ‡♠
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14
Andy Warhol
One Multicolored Marilyn (Reversal Series)
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡
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15
Gerhard Richter
Abstraktes Bild 776-1 (Abstract Painting)
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16
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (Butterfly)
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17
Michaël Borremans
The Portrait
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18
Donald Judd
Untitled
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19
Michelangelo Pistoletto
Uomo con gli stivali al telefono
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20
Andy Warhol
Miguel Berrocal
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21
Komar and Melamid
Karl Marx and Cornucopia (Diptych)
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22
Semyon Faibisovich
Winter Day, from the “Shuttle Bus” series
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23
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24
Chris Ofili
The Saga Continues...The Journey from Hell
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25
Banksy
Happy Shopper
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡♠
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26
Banksy
Rembrandt
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27
Jacob Kassay
Untitled
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28
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29
Damien Hirst
Night Follows Day (Diptych)
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30
Ashley Bickerton
Bismarck Archipelago Shark
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31
Robert Longo
Spanish Blood
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32
Wolfgang Tillmans
Paper Drop (White) b
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33
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34
Oscar Murillo
Untitled
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35
Mark Flood
Pink Summer Day
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Contemporary Art Evening Sale

London Evening Sale 10 February 2014 7pm

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Provenance

Exhibited

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Banksy

25

Banksy

Happy Shopper

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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