Gauntlet Gallery — Banksy Prints
Paint Pot Angel (First Edition)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
Paint Pot Angel (First Edition) reproduces Banksy's altered statue: a classical weathered stone cemetery angel, wings spread and head bowed, standing on a plinth — but its head is buried inside an inverted hot-pink paint pot, with vivid pink paint dripping down the figure and pooling along the base. The image documents Banksy's defaced-monument sculpture from his 2009 Bristol Museum takeover, translated into a print as part of his ongoing assault on the dignity of public statuary and the conventions of "high" art.
Collector notes: Edition label was not stated, and total quantity was not documented in the saved record. Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Why It Matters
The work captures one of Banksy's most pointed gestures: taking the most reverent of objects — a memorial angel — and literally tipping a tin of paint over its head, collapsing the sacred into the absurd. It crystallizes his anti-establishment, anti-pomp stance, mocking the solemnity of monuments and museum culture while the lurid pink runs read both as vandalism and as a wound. As a record of his sculptural and museum-intervention practice (most famously Banksy versus Bristol Museum), it ties together his street-vandalism roots and his institutional satire, themes squarely in the Protest and Subversion register.
Collector Perspective
This is a 2018 screen print after the well-known Paint Pot Angel statue, and as a "First Edition" it sits among the more accessible printed records of that sculpture rather than the unique object itself. Edition size is not confirmed here, and that detail materially affects value — buyers should verify the total run, whether the impression is signed or unsigned, and any numbering before paying a premium. Banksy's name carries strong, liquid demand across the board, but pricing on this specific title should be benchmarked against confirmed comparable sales rather than the artist's headline records.
Historical Context
The source sculpture debuted in Banksy versus Bristol Museum (summer 2009), a self-funded, largely secret takeover of the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery that drew enormous crowds and inserted his subversive works among the institution's permanent collection. Paint Pot Angel — a stone angel with its head swallowed by an overturned tin of pink paint — became one of the show's signature pieces, a joke about defacement aimed at the very kind of statuary museums enshrine. This 2018 print revisits that 2009 contemporary-era intervention, keeping the image in circulation a decade after the exhibition that made it famous.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned screenprint
- Release date
- 2018
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Medium and materials
- Screen Print.
- Edition details
- Edition label was not stated, and total quantity was not documented in the saved record.
- Signature and marks
- Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Documented History and Meaning
History note: This page treats Banksy's broader career as background context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition or event. Release-level facts here come from a saved secondary catalog record.
Meaning / interpretation: Read as documented context rather than stated intent: The source sculpture debuted in Banksy versus Bristol Museum (summer 2009), a self-funded, largely secret takeover of the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery that drew enormous crowds and inserted his subversive works among the institution's permanent collection. This is an interpretive reading of the release context, not a statement of the artist's intent for this specific work. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.
Release context: The saved catalog lists 2018.
Authentication, Presentation and Provenance
- Original presentation
- Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.
- Authentication note
- Compare the support, dimensions, edition number, and signature against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet Gallery does not authenticate works purchased from third parties.
- Provenance note
- Edition origin is attributed in the saved record to the release source named in the saved record. That does not establish the ownership history of an individual copy: retain the original invoice, reseller or gallery paperwork, labels, correspondence, and condition photographs.
Sources and Verification
Verification status: Secondary catalog snapshot; artist-level context added
- Banksy — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
- Banksy (Q133600) — Wikidata · reference knowledge base · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Structured identifier used for the artist across catalog metadata.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
A classical stone angel statue on a plinth with its head buried inside an upturned hot-pink paint pot, bright pink paint dripping down the figure and base — Banksy's defaced-monument sculpture from his 2009 Bristol Museum show, reproduced as a screen print.
What is the edition size?
The edition size is not confirmed in our records. Buyers should verify the total run and any numbering directly from accompanying paperwork before purchase.
Is this print signed or unsigned?
Signature status is not specified for this First Edition. Confirm whether a given impression is hand-signed or unsigned, as that significantly affects value for Banksy prints.
What is the medium?
It is a screen print, dated 2018, reproducing the Paint Pot Angel sculpture.
Who is Banksy?
Banksy is the anonymous England-based street artist who emerged from Bristol in the early 1990s, known for fast stencil work, dark humour, and anti-war, anti-capitalist, and anti-establishment imagery, as well as high-profile stunts and museum interventions.
