BANKSY (b. 1974)
Police Car, 2003
Spray paint on cardboard
83.8 x 111.8 cm (33×44 inches)
Stenciled with the artist’s name (lower right)
Provenance
Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles
Acquired from the above in 2020 by the present owner
Exhibited
London, Turf War, July 2003
Auction History
| Sotheby’s New-York 26 September 2025 Est.: USD 180,000 – 250,000 |
|
Catalogue Note
Executed in 2003, Police Car belongs to the important body of works created around Turf War, the landmark exhibition that marked a decisive moment in Banksy’s early career. While introducing his imagery into the gallery setting, Banksy deliberately preserved the immediacy, irreverence and material vocabulary of the street, producing works that remained visually inseparable from their urban origins.
The composition depicts an abandoned police car resting awkwardly on bricks after all four wheels have been stolen. Rendered in Banksy’s characteristic black-and-white stencil technique, the scene is immediately recognizable yet quietly absurd. The vehicle itself bears no visible signs of violence beyond its immobilization, transforming what might otherwise be an act of vandalism into an image of unexpected humor. Authority has not been destroyed; it has simply been rendered powerless.
The work perfectly illustrates Banksy’s remarkable ability to undermine established symbols through minimal intervention. Throughout his career, police officers frequently appear as embodiments of institutional authority, yet they are rarely portrayed as overtly threatening. Instead, Banksy prefers irony to confrontation. Here, the police car remains intact, but its removal from action subtly inverts the traditional balance of power. The image suggests that even the most imposing institutions ultimately depend upon fragile foundations and can be disarmed through surprisingly ordinary means.
This version is particularly distinguished by its execution on corrugated cardboard, one of Banksy’s most evocative early supports. Far from being a simple substitute for canvas, the cardboard is integral to the work’s meaning. Associated with discarded packaging, temporary shelters and the everyday materiality of the street, it preserves the raw aesthetic of graffiti while deliberately challenging conventional ideas of artistic value. The visible folds, corrugations and imperfections of the surface become active elements of the composition, reinforcing the impression that the work itself has been salvaged directly from the urban environment.
The restrained use of color further enhances the composition. Against the warm tones of the cardboard, the crisp black-and-white stencil assumes an almost graphic clarity, while the small red light bar and yellow police insignia provide the only chromatic accents. These subtle touches are sufficient to identify the vehicle instantly, demonstrating Banksy’s remarkable ability to communicate through visual economy rather than complexity.
Exhibited in Turf War in London in 2003, this work belongs to the formative period during which Banksy was refining many of the themes that would define his later career: the questioning of authority, the subversion of institutional symbols and the transformation of ordinary urban imagery into powerful political allegory. More than two decades later, Police Car remains a compelling example of Banksy’s ability to expose the vulnerability of power with little more than a stencil, a sheet of cardboard and a perfectly observed visual joke.
Another variation, slightly smaller in size, unique in its format sold at Digard Auctions in France, on 12 December 2023.
BANKSY
Police Car, 2003
Spray paint and mixed media on cardboard
73×105 cm (28.7 x 41.3 inches)
Unique in this format
Auction History
| Digard Auction 12 December 2023 Est.: EUR 300,000 – 500,000 | Price Realized |
