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Grannies, 2006

BY
Grannies, 2006
Editions: 150 signed, 500 unsigned

‘They say youth is wasted on the young but sitting on your ass all day
eating mints and watching telly seems wasted on the elderly.
Here’s a picture of two old dears knitting themselves a sweater.’

Grannies features two elderly ladies sitting on aged armchairs enjoying their favorite activity: knitting jumpers and drinking tea. They seem very pleased of themselves, smiling, most probably talking, exchanging good memories, and knitting for their grand-children. However, on closer inspection, the text emblazoned in block-capitals across the jumpers are unlikely slogans: “Punks Not Dead” and “Thug For Life”. They both appear to be quietly pleased with themselves, as they fly in the face of cultural norms, and share such an act of rebellion.
 
Rendered in Banksy’s signature black and white stencil style, the pair is set against a block pink background, which juxtaposition serves to heighten the humorous contradiction between scene and message, a technique mastered by the artist. As it is often the case in Banksy’s works, several interpretations are possible. Perhaps this artwork reminds the viewer never to underestimate the relatively innocuous appearance of the older generation, which acts as a guise for their rebellious pasts.
James Pfaff, Grannies, Studio Sessions II, London, 2004
Banksy might also well be encouraging the older generations to pass down their acts of defiance to the future generations, along with the knitted jumpers they gift their grandchildren.
Grannies (Hand-Finished), 2006
Edition: 11 signed with extensive hand-spray finish

Obviously, it can also be seen as a metaphor for how artists also impact the world, not through any kind of violence, but simply by creating artworks that are shared with a wide public. On the flip side, it has also been suggested that the picture represents the gentrification of counter-culture into a tame, mainstream movement suitable even for grannies.

 

RELEASE HISTORY

Grannies is one of six prints belonging to the Barely Legal Print Set, which also includes Morons, Trolleys, Applause, Sale Ends and Festival. Grannies was originally released at Barely Legal as an edition of 100 unsigned prints, printed by Modern Multiples, that sold for $500 a piece.
In 2007, Banksy’s UK-based printer Pictures of Walls re-released different versions of the Morons print: 300 signed prints on a sepia background, as well as black and white editions of 500 unsigned and 150 signed prints.
Grannies original, exhibited at Barely Legal, Los Angeles, 2006

DESCRIPTION

Grannies

Year: 2006
Medium: Screen-print in colors on Arches wove paper
Size: 56×76 cm (22×30 inches)
Publisher: Pictures on Walls

Editions

Signed Edition: 150
Unsigned Edition: 500
Hand-Finished Edition: 11 signed

AUCTION RESULTS

FOR A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF AUCTION RESULTS
PLEASE CHECK BANKSY VALUE: BARELY LEGAL PRINTS
YOU WILL ONLY FIND THE MOST RECENT AUCTION RESULTS BELOW

BANKSY VALUE: Barely Legal Prints

 

Grannies (unsigned) sold 5 times at auction in 2024 for a total turnover of GBP 76,413 (USD 98,539) at an average price of GBP 15,283 (USD 19,708). The highest price of GBP 16,800 (USD 22,361) was achieved at Sotheby’s online on 26 September 2024.

Sotheby’s online: 26 September 2024
Estimated: GBP 10,000 – 15,000
GBP 16,800 / USD 22,361

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Grannies (unsigned), 2006
Screenprint in colors on Arches wove paper
Numbered in pencil 153/500 with the publisher’s blindstamp

Grannies (signed) sold once at auction in 2024, at Tate Ward on 19 June 2024 for GBP 25,000 (USD 31,875). It has not sold at auction in 2023, nor in 2022.

Tate Ward: 19 June 2024
Estimated: GBP 20,000 – 30,000
GBP 25,000 / USD 31,875

BANKSY (British 1974-)
Grannies (signed), 2006
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil, lower right
Numbered in pencil from an edition of 150 with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower left

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