Winnie The Pooh, 2001
Acrylic on canvas
51×61 cm
The image of Winnie the Pooh first appeared as a piece of wall art in Banksy’s hometown of Bristol in 1999. It belongs to Banksy’s earliest collection of works on canvas, first exhibited at Santa’s Ghetto, an exhibition of paintings and prints by Banksy and other notable Street artists.
The image depicts English author Alan Alexander Milne’s famous Winnie the Pooh character in Banksy’s iconic black and white stencil style. The familiar, endearing cartoon bear is weeping under a tree, his foot caught in a bear trap. In place of Pooh Bear’s famous honey pot is a pot of money, lying on the ground next to him. As such, Winnie the Pooh stands for a symbol of childlike naivety and good nature and the transformed honey pot representing materialism, this unique picture is Banksy‘s rendition of a loss of innocence
