Art News ·
Art News: How to buy a Banksy, where to find real prints and how to avoid fakes
By Whitebank Fine Art
To buy a real Banksy, you need a work that comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from Pest Control, the artist's own authentication office. New work is sold only by Pest Control, and only occasionally, so most buyers go to a dealer, an auction or a private seller. Before you pay, ask Pest Control to check the work and its certificate. Whitebank Fine Art, a London art advisory and gallery, sells Banksy prints and finds them for buyers, and this guide sets out what we look for.
Can you buy a Banksy directly from Banksy?
Only when Pest Control has something to sell. Its website calls it "the only point of sale for new work by the artist", and says Banksy is not represented by any gallery or institution. New work appears rarely. Everything else on the market is being resold by an earlier owner, so any gallery offering a Banksy, this one included, is reselling it.
Where to buy Banksy prints and originals
| Route | What you pay | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Gallery or dealer | An asking price, with the dealer's margin inside it | You are limited to what that dealer holds |
| Auction | The hammer price plus a buyer's premium, which can add about a quarter | Competition on the day, and no room to negotiate |
| Private sale through an advisor | An agreed price and the advisor's fee | Slower, but it reaches works that are not on public sale |
| Online marketplace | Whatever the listing asks | Check the paperwork before any money moves |
Pest Control says any gallery, online platform or auction house selling a genuine work should have its paperwork, and that a work without it is likely to be a copy.
Artworks we have available are listed on this site, and we also act for buyers looking for a particular image. If you are bidding, Banksy at auction covers how those sales work, how to buy art at auction safely covers bidding, and auction fees explained sets out the premium.
Banksy, Morons, 2006, screenprint. A view of the saleroom from the artist.
How much does a Banksy cost?
Most Banksy prints that come up for sale cost five figures. At one specialist UK saleroom's sales between December 2024 and October 2026, 59 of the 77 Banksy prints offered sold, at a median of £13,750 including buyer's premium, and at prices from £7,280 to £140,875. Only four of those lots were described as signed. Reported 2026 auction averages are about £12,000 for unsigned prints and £35,000 for signed ones. Originals are a different market: Keep Ou T sold in London in October 2026 for £1,612,500.
Our Banksy price guide has those results by price, by year and by title, and the Banksy price calculator gives a range for a named print. What most Banksy prints actually sell for looks at the same lots in more detail, and Banksy prints 2026 covers this year's headline results.
A canvas, poster or wall print for a few pounds is a reproduction, whatever the listing says. Pest Control says Banksy has no licence agreements and makes merchandise only sporadically, for specific projects, so it advises scepticism about anything that looks like a Banksy product.
How to tell if a Banksy is real
The certificate is the proof. Pest Control is the only source of certificates for Banksy, so a letter or certificate from a gallery, dealer or valuer does not authenticate anything. How Banksy authentication works explains the process.
Pest Control issues certificates for paintings, prints and sculptures. It does not issue them for stickers, posters or defaced currency, or for anything made illegally, so a piece taken from a street wall cannot be certified.
Its website carries three warnings a buyer should know:
- Fake prints from about 2003. Pest Control says high-level fake prints from around that year have been found in circulation. It names no titles. Banksy's prints from 2003 include Love Is In The Air, Bomb Hugger, Happy Choppers and Laugh Now.
- Stencilled fakes with a good story. Banksy images circulate online as stencils, and fakes made from them, road signs in particular, are sold with convincing back stories.
- Dismaland. Pest Control says no Dismaland certificates were issued and there was no free art.
A price well below the market is a warning in itself.
Banksy, Love Is In The Air, 2003, screenprint.
Use Pest Control's check before you buy
Pest Control runs a service for exactly this moment:
- Agree the purchase, but do not pay.
- Submit the details through the check or register artwork page on Pest Control's website.
- Pest Control checks the work and its certificate against its database and liaises with the seller.
- Once the work is yours, register as the new owner through its change of ownership service, which helps prove the sale and filter out fakes.
The check works only if the piece already has a Pest Control certificate. There is a fee, which you get back if the work is fake. If there is no certificate, the owner needs to apply for one. When we checked in November 2026, that cost £100 plus VAT for a screenprint and £150 plus VAT for an original, with no charge if the work is found to be fake.
Is the Banksy exhibition in London official?
Pest Control says Banksy is not involved or associated with the exhibitions of Banksy work that open around the world, and in October 2025 it said a new show in London was not a show by Banksy. Enjoy them as exhibitions if you like, and treat anything on sale there as you would any other unofficial merchandise. Banksy exhibition London sets out what is open now.
What to check before you pay
- The certificate is from Pest Control and matches this sheet, with the right title and edition number.
- The edition size is confirmed by a source other than the seller.
- The condition is seen out of the frame: fading, foxing, creases and trimming.
- The sheet is measured against the published size for that edition.
- The total cost includes any premium, VAT, shipping and insurance.
Our eight-point check for buying a Banksy has the full list. The Banksy print guide gives the details of each image, from Girl with Balloon to Flying Copper.
Banksy buying questions
Can you buy a Banksy without a certificate? You can, but Pest Control says a work offered without its paperwork is likely to be a copy. If the seller believes it is real, the seller can apply for a certificate first.
Are all Banksy prints signed? No. Many images were issued in both signed and unsigned editions, and the two are valued separately.
Can you buy a Banksy from a wall? Not with a certificate. Pest Control does not certify anything made illegally.
Where can I buy a Banksy in London? Specialist galleries and auctions in London sell Banksy prints. Whitebank Fine Art is a London art advisory and gallery, and lists the works it has available.
Buying through Whitebank Fine Art
Whitebank Fine Art holds works of its own and is also engaged by buyers to find works it does not own. You will always be told which of the two is on the table before you spend anything. To start, tell us the image, whether you want it signed and your budget, through our Banksy buying page or by requesting a call. There is no obligation to proceed.
If you already own one, selling a Banksy compares the routes to market.
Cover: Banksy, Girl with Balloon, 2004, Bomb Hugger, 2003, and Happy Choppers, 2003, screenprints.
Banksy · Prints and editions · Auction market
