Gauntlet Gallery — Banksy Prints
Soup Can Poster (First Edition)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
A 5x5 grid of twenty-five identical canned-soup labels rendered as cheap "Tesco Value" tomato soup tins rather than Campbell's, this is Banksy's direct send-up of Andy Warhol's 1962 Campbell's Soup Cans. Where Warhol elevated American supermarket branding into Pop art, Banksy swaps in a British discount-store own-brand, turning the gesture into a sharper jab at budget consumerism and the commodification of art itself.
Collector notes: Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 84. 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
Soup Can is one of Banksy's most legible art-historical commentaries. By replacing Campbell's with Tesco Value, the cheapest no-frills line of Britain's dominant supermarket, he collapses two targets at once: the consumer economy that sells identical mass product to the poor, and the art market that turned Warhol's reproduction of that product into a multimillion-dollar commodity. The repetition of twenty-five identical cans mimics Warhol's deadpan seriality while the downmarket British branding injects Banksy's characteristic class politics and dark humour. It is a knowing, self-aware piece that simultaneously parodies Pop art and participates in it.
Collector Perspective
This is the 2006 First Edition offset print in an edition of 84, making it one of the scarcer of the several Soup Can colourways and editions Banksy produced in this period (later and larger signed/unsigned screen-print runs in various colour combinations also exist and are more commonly traded). As an offset lithographic poster rather than a hand-pulled screen print, and as described here without a stated signature, it sits at a more accessible entry point than the signed POW screen prints, but the small edition of 84 gives it genuine scarcity within the Soup Can family. Condition is critical for offset posters of this era; trimming, handling creases, and tape residue meaningfully affect value. Buyers should confirm edition specifics, signature status, and provenance documentation, as the Soup Can series spans multiple versions that are easily conflated.
Historical Context
Produced in 2006 during Banksy's Stencil Boom Era, when his market profile was rising sharply on the back of shows like Barely Legal in Los Angeles, Soup Can references Andy Warhol's landmark 1962 Campbell's Soup Cans, a foundational work of American Pop art. Banksy's substitution of Tesco Value, launched in 1993 as the supermarket's bargain-basement own brand, localises the critique to Britain and to the era's discount-retail culture. The work belongs to a run of Banksy pieces that explicitly riff on canonical art history to comment on consumerism and the art establishment.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned print
- Release date
- 2006
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Medium and materials
- Offset.
- Edition details
- Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 84.
- 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: Produced in 2006 during Banksy's Stencil Boom Era, when his market profile was rising sharply on the back of shows like Barely Legal in Los Angeles, Soup Can references Andy Warhol's landmark 1962 Campbell's Soup Cans, a foundational work of American Pop art. 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 2006.
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 5x5 grid of twenty-five identical 'Tesco Value' tomato soup cans, parodying Andy Warhol's 1962 Campbell's Soup Cans by swapping the American brand for Britain's cheapest supermarket own-label.
How large is the edition?
This 2006 First Edition was produced in an edition of 84.
Is it signed?
This is the First Edition offset and is catalogued here without a stated signature; signed examples exist within the broader Soup Can series, so buyers should confirm signature status and request provenance before purchase.
What medium is it?
It is an offset lithographic print (poster), not a hand-pulled screen print.
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-capitalist and anti-establishment imagery, with many prints published through Pictures on Walls.
Why Tesco Value instead of Campbell's?
The swap turns Warhol's celebration of American consumer branding into a pointed comment on British discount-retail culture, class, and the commodification of art itself.
