David Shrigley
Deliberately bad drawings with the mistakes left in, and a very large thumbs up in Trafalgar Square.
David Shrigley was born in Macclesfield in 1968 and studied in Glasgow. The drawings are made in cheap black ink on cheap paper, wobbly, misspelt, with crossings-out left visible — an approach that took years to be understood as a decision rather than an inability. He has published dozens of books, made animations and music videos, put a seven-metre bronze thumbs up called Really Good on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2016, and in 2020 exchanged a Turner painting for a set of pencils. He was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2013.
The volume of editioned material is the practical issue in this market. Shrigley publishes prolifically — screenprints, offset editions, books, ceramics, tote bags, T-shirts, records, gallery merchandise — and the distinction between a signed limited edition and an open-edition product is not always obvious to owners. Unique ink drawings on paper are the core and are numerous, since he draws constantly and discards a great deal. Sculpture and ceramic works exist in editions. Signature and numbering in pencil, and the publisher's documentation, are what matter.
If you own a work by David Shrigley
Send photographs and whatever paperwork came with it. The first question is what the work actually is — edition or unique, when, and in what condition — because everything else follows from the answer. A valuation costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Write to info@whitebankfineart.co.uk, or start below.
Whitebank Fine Art is an art advisory and gallery, not an auction house, and is not affiliated with any auction house or with the artist, their estate or their representatives. This page describes the range we advise on. Nothing here is investment advice.