Standing among Banksy’s most celebrated images, Love is in the Air is an early iteration of his seminal ‘flower thrower’ motif. The work dates from 2002, three years before the seminal mural first appeared on the side of a garage near the newly-erected West Bank barrier wall. Offering a poignant response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it was this image that cemented Banksy’s position on the international stage, establishing him both as an artist and as an activist. The masked insurrectionist—armed not with weaponry but rather with a floral bouquet—has since become a twenty-first-century icon, representing a universal image of peace and reconciliation. Over time, moreover, he has come to operate as an extension of Banksy himself, encapsulating the anonymous, non-violent insurgence that defines his urban interventions. Uniquely rendered using a hand-cut stencil and reproduced on the cover of his seminal 2005 book Wall and Piece, the work shares its title with the 1978 John Paul Young hit, injecting its message with a characteristic note of tongue-in-cheek wit.


Image: © Vanni Archive / Art Resource, NY


Anti-Vietnam peace protestor Jan Rose Kasmin confronting the American National Guard with a chrysanthemum flower outside the Pentagon, 1967. Photo: © Marc Riboud / Fonds Marc Riboud au MNAAG/Magnum Photos.
The choice of flowers, over a brick or hand grenade, is significant, evoking the sentiment of the Flower Power movement and the associated anti-war demonstrations in America during the 1960s. Images from the time show protestors offering flowers to military police, and—in a landmark Pulitzer Prize-nominated photograph of 1967—placing carnations inside their rifle barrels. Banksy’s work operates in a similar vein: despite its anarchic edge, its mission is ultimately one of outreach, sending sparks of joy and comfort to local communities, and timely warnings to those in positions of power.
Auction Results
Love is in the Air, 2002
Christie’s London: 13 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 500,000 – 700,000
GBP 567,000 / USD 635,650
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2002
Spray paint on canvas
21×18 inches (53.4 x 45.7 cm)
From a series, Tagged ‘Banksy’ (lower right)
Provenance
And A Boutique, Tokyo.
Private Collection, Japan (acquired from the above in 2002).
Anon. sale, Christie’s London, 1 July 2009, lot 304.
Private Collection, Belgium (acquired at the above sale).
Thence by descent to the present owner.
Love is in the Air, 2002
Christie’s London: 1 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 600,000 – 800,000
GBP 978,000 / USD 1,303,670
BANKSY
Love is in the Air, 2002
Spray paint on canvas
17×17 inches (43.2 x 43.2 cm)
Executed in 2002, this work is a variant outside an edition of five
Provenance
33 1⁄3 Gallery, Los Angeles
Private Collection (acquired from the above in 2002)
Anon. sale, Sotheby’s London, 2 July 2008, lot 307
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Exhibited
Los Angeles, 33 1⁄3 Gallery, Existencilism, 2002 (another version exhibited)
Love Is In The Air, 2002
Phillips New-York: 23 June 2021
Estimated: USD 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
USD 1,179,500
Banksy – 20th Century & Contemporary Ar… Lot 46 June 2021 | Phillips
BANKSY
Love Is In The Air, 2002
Spray-paint on canvas
20×17 inches (50.8 x 43.3 cm)
This work is number 4 from an edition of 5
Provenance
Laz Inc., London
Private Collection (acquired from the above)
Sotheby’s, London, June 26, 2009, lot 174 (titled as Untitled (Flower Thrower))
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Exhibited
Los Angeles, 33 1/3 Gallery, Existencilism, July 19 – August 18, 2002 (another example exhibited)
Executed in 2002, the present work is from a discrete edition of five canvases Banksy created for his debut exhibition in Los Angeles, Existencillism, at the 33 1/3 Gallery in July 2002.
Love is in the Air 2002
Bonhams London: 29 March 2012
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 87,650 / USD 139,180
Bonhams : Banksy (b. 1975) Love is in the Air
Stencil spray paint on canvas
51×43 cm (20 1/16 x 16 15/16 inches)
Stenciled BANKSY to the overlap
Signed, dated 2002, numbered 2/5 and inscribed LA to the reverse
Provenance
Existencilism, 33 1/3 Gallery, Los Angeles
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2002