Share on twitter
Share on facebook
Share on pinterest
Share on email

Girl with Balloon (Diptych), 2005

BY

Girl with Balloon (Diptych), 2005
Edition: 25
Acrylic and spray-paint stencil on canvas in two parts
30.5×30.5 cm (12×12 inches) each
Stenciled “BANKSY” in red spray paint on the turnover edge
Further dated and numbered /25 on the stretcher

Girl and Balloon, first realized in 2003, is without a doubt one of the most iconic images of the 21st century. Instantly recognizable, its enduring success lies within the ease with which it has been disseminated and reproduced online by a new, tech-savvy generation of art lovers. Despite this, its earliest renditions on the streets of London have been lost, and the present series of canvases from 2003 and the subsequent prints released the following year are the only concrete testimony to the work’s appeal.
Its popularity is such that in a poll commissioned in 2017 it was voted Britain’s favorite artwork beating such historical heavyweights as John Constable’s The Hay Wain and JMW Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire.
How has the work of an upstart graffiti artist from Bristol, proudly operating outside the system, managed to upstage some of the most important treasures housed in UK’s most hallowed national collection? Like many of the artist’s best works, its success lies in its stark simplicity, rendered in black and red against the white canvas, the image possesses a visual immediacy that is key to its popularity. Here, we have a stencil of the familiar little girl rendered centrally to the composition with hand outstretched reaching for the heart-shaped balloon that only moments earlier escaped her fingers. Yet, despite this immediacy there is also an enigmatic quality to the work which makes a literal reading difficult to decipher. Whether the work is concerned with freedom, release, poignancy, loss, temporality or hope depends entirely on the viewer, although what is clear is its timeless appeal.

Auction Results

Girl with Balloon (Diptych) sold 4 times at auction. It last sold at Sotheby’s in London, on 14 October 2022, for GBP 882,000 (USD 996,800). This is a serious discount as compared to its all-time high auction record of GBP 3,042,500 (USD 4,183,940) achieved at Christie’s in London on 15 October 2021, but still a very strong upside as compared to prices realized 10 years ago.

Girl with Balloon Diptych, 2006

Sotheby’s London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 1,200,000 – 1,800,000
GBP 882,000 / USD 996,800

Girl with Balloon Diptych | The Now Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Girl with Balloon Diptych, 2006
Spray paint on canvas, in two parts
Each: 30×30 cm (12×12 inches)
Left canvas: signed Banksy, dated 2006 and numbered Artist Proof 00/25 (on the reverse)
Right canvas: tagged (on the overturn edge)

Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist in 2006

Girl with Balloon (Diptych), 2005

Christie’s London: 15 October 2021
Estimated: GBP 2,600,000 – 3,500,000
GBP 3,042,500 / USD 4,183,940
AUCTION RECORD FOR GIRL WITH BALLOON (DIPTYCH)

BANKSY, Girl with Balloon (Diptych) | Christie’s (christies.com)

BANKSY
Girl with Balloon (Diptych), 2005
Spray paint on canvas, in two parts
Each: 30.2 x 30.2 cm (11 7/8 x 11 7/8 inches)
(i) numbered ‘6/25′ (on the stretcher)
(ii) tagged ‘BANKSY’ (on the overlap); signed and dated ‘BANKSY 5⁄9/05‘ (on the stretcher)
This work is number six from an edition of twenty-five

Provenance
Private Collection, London.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in circa 2013

Girl with a Balloon, 2005

Sotheby’s London: 13 October 2012
Estimated: GBP 35,000 – 45,000
GBP 46,850 / USD 75,305

(#124) Banksy

BANKSY
Girl with a Balloon, 2005
Acrylic and spraypaint on canvas, diptych
Each: 30.2 x 30.2cm (11 7/8 x 11 7/8 inches)
(ii) tagged on the side edge; signed, dated 11/12/05 and numbered 8/25 on the stretcher

Provenance
Lazarides Gallery, London
Private Collection, Sweden
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Girl and Balloon, 2005

Christie’s London: 12 September 2012
Estimated: GBP 30,000 – 50,000
GBP 58,850 / USD 94,755

Banksy (b. 1975) , Girl and Balloon | Christie’s

BANKSY (b. 1975)
Girl and Balloon, 2005
Spray enamel on canvas, in two parts
Each: 30.2 x 30.2 cm ( 11 7/8 x 11 7/8 inches)
Tagged ‘Banksy’ (on the overlap)
Signed, numbered and dated ‘Banksy 11/12/05 11/25’ (on the reverse)
This work is number eleven from an edition of twenty-five

Provenance
Lazarides Galleries, London
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2007

 

Gallery

More like this

wpChatIcon
wpChatIcon