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Flower Thrower Triptych, 2019

BY

Thrower (Grey), 2019
Edition: 300 signed
 
Thrower presents a variation of one of Banksy’s most iconic visuals entitled Love Is In The Air (Flower Thrower). The work shows a man with a bandana over his face frozen in the act of throwing neither a brick nor a Molotov cocktail, but a bouquet of flowers. This image conveys a message of peace. In the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) version, the visual is split into three parts, and presented as a deconstructed tryptic.
 
As such, the artist is returning to the original techniques of printing, avoiding digital methods of manipulation in order to perfectly recreate the striking marks of the original design. Obviously, it refers directly to artists such as Andy Warhol, who transferred his images directly onto a screen to be reproduced, ushering in a new era for the creation, dissemination, and commodification of art.
With its classical stencil led style, the work also pays homage to Banksy’s origins as a street artist, whereby the stencil represents the quickest, most efficient way for the artist to insert his image into the urban environment without getting caught. Revisited and reconceived many times over the years by Banksy, Flower Thrower has become one of the most iconic images from the street art movement and is a motif he revisits often in the same way he does with rats and monkeys.
Thrower, Walled off Hotel, Bethlehem. Photo by Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
 
The original description for the work explains that this work represents “Banksy’s first experiment with a new technique for making prints – spray the stencil onto processing film and expose the result directly onto a silk screen.” This was the original screen-printing technique used by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring – two artists whose work and careers helped shape and inspire Banksy.

DESCRIPTION

Thrower

Year: 2019
Medium: Screen-print in colors on 1500-micron board
Size: Flower (74.8x55cm), Thrower (91.8x61cm), Hand (47×37.2cm)
Publishers: Banksy and Gross Domestic Product

Editions

Total Edition: 300 signed

AUCTION RESULTS

Flower Thrower was sold directly through Gross Domestic Product in the primary market starting in 2019 and came initially with a commitment from the buyer not to sell at auction for three years. Pest Control Office has now issued COAs.

Flower Thrower (Triptych) sold once at auction in 2024, at Koller in Zurich for CHF 95,000 (USD 105,925).

Flower Thrower (Triptych) sold three times at auction in 2023 for a total turnover of GBP 468,361 (USD 576,994) at an average price of GBP 156,120 (USD 192,331). It sold at Sotheby’s online on 20 April 2023 for GBP 190,500 (USD 237,142), its highest price in 2023.

Flower Thrower (Triptych) sold 5 times at auction in 2022 for a total turnover of GBP 1,061,516 (USD 1,281,098) at an average price of GBP 212,303 (USD 256,220). It sold at Sotheby’s online on 26 April 2022 for GBP 277,200 (USD 349,272), its highest price in 2022.

Flower Thrower (Triptych) sold at Tate Ward Auction on 24 March 2021 for its all-time auction record of GBP 343,750 (USD 477,813).

2025 Auction Results

Phillips London: 23 January 2025
Estimated: GBP 100,000 – 150,000
GBP 120,650 / USD 149,050

BANKSY
Flower Thrower Triptych (Grey), 2019
Screenprinted triptych in colors on recycled card
Signed and numbered 227/300 in pencil on the front of the Flower panel
Further numbered in pencil on the reverse of the other two panels
Contained in the original artist’s specified gilded wooden frames

2024 Auction Results

Flower Thrower (Triptych) sold once at auction in 2024, at Koller in Zurich for CHF 95,000 (USD 105,925).

Koller Zurich: 20 June 2024
Estimated: CHF 100,000 – 180,000
CHF 95,000 / USD 105,925

BANKSY (Bristol 1974–lives and works in England)
Flower Thrower Triptych (Grey), 2019
Color screenprint on recycled cardboard
268/300. Signed in pencil on the lower left of the left board: BANKSY
Also numbered on the reverse of the center and left boards

2023 Auction Results

Flower Thrower (Triptych) sold 3 times at auction in 2023 for a total turnover of GBP 468,361 (USD 576,994) at an average price of GBP 156,120 (USD 192,331). It sold at Sotheby’s online on 20 April 2023 for GBP 190,500 (USD 237,142), its highest price in 2023.


Sotheby’s New-York: 24 October 2023
Estimated: USD 120,000 – 180,000
USD 152,400

BANKSY (b.1974)
Flower Thrower Triptych (Grey), 2019
Screenprinted triptych in colors on Micron board
Signed in pencil on the left panel and numbered 283/300
Numbered on the central and right panels on the verso

Sotheby’s online: 20 April 2023
Estimated: GBP 130,000 – 180,000
GBP 190,500 / USD 237,142
HIGHEST PRICE PAID FOR THROWER AT AUCTION IN 2023

BANKSY
Flower Thrower Triptych (Grey), 2019
Screenprinted triptych on Micron board
Signed in pencil on the left panel
Numbered 204/300, also numbered on the central and right panels verso

Sotheby’s London: 2 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 120,000 – 180,000
GBP 152,400 / USD 187,452

BANKSY
Flower Thrower Triptych (Grey), 2019
Screenprinted triptych on Micron board
Signed and numbered 118/300

2022 Auction Results

Flower Thrower (Triptych) sold 5 times at auction in 2022 for a total turnover of GBP 1,061,516 (USD 1,281,098) at an average price of GBP 212,303 (USD 256,220). It sold at Sotheby’s online on 26 April 2022 for GBP 277,200 (USD 349,272), its highest price in 2022.


Koller Zurich: 1 December 2022
Estimated: CHF 180,000 – 240,000
CHF 187,195 / USD 200,299 / GBP 166,916

BANKSY
Flower Thrower Triptych (Grey), 2019
Color screenprint on recycled cardboard
Signed on the left sheet in pencil lower left
Numbered 224/300 on the reverse of each sheet.

Christie’s online: 21 September 2022
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 250,000
GBP 189,000 / USD 226,800

BANKSY
Flower Thrower Triptych (Grey), 2019
Signed in pencil on the left panel
Numbered 219/300, also numbered on the central and right panels verso

Phillips London: 15 September 2022
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 200,000
GBP 214,200 / USD 247,687

Thrower (Grey), 2019
Signed and numbered 211/300 in pencil on the front of the Flower panel
Further numbered in pencil on the reverse of the other two panels

Sotheby’s online: 17 August 2022
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 200,000
GBP 214,200 / USD 257,040

BANKSY
Flower Thrower Triptych (Grey), 2019
Signed in pencil on the left panel
Numbered 243/300, also numbered on the central and right panels verso

Sotheby’s London: 26 April 2022
Estimated: GBP 150,000 – 200,000
GBP 277,200 / USD 349,272
HIGHEST PRICE PAID FOR THROWER AT AUCTION IN 2022

BANKSY (b. 1974)
Thrower (Grey), 2019
Screenprinted triptych on micron board
Signed in pencil on the left panel, numbered 245/300
Also numbered on the central and right panels verso

2021 Auction Results

Tate Ward Auctions: 24 March 2021
GBP 343,750 / USD 477,813
WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR THROWER

BANKSY (British 1974-)
Thrower (Grey), 2019
Triptych, screenprint in colors on 1500 micron board
Signed and numbered from an edition of 300 in pencil to the Flower panel recto
Numbered from an edition of 300 to the Thrower panel verso
Numbered from an edition of 300 to the Hand panel verso

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