Gauntlet Gallery — Banksy Prints
Queen Victoria (Unsigned)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
A high-contrast black-on-deep-red screenprint depicting Queen Victoria seated upright in full regalia — crown and royal sceptre in hand — but positioned astride another woman in a stockinged, garter-clad pose, a deliberately lewd "sitting on a face" arrangement that turns the icon of Victorian moral propriety into a queer, sexualized provocation. It is one of Banksy's most pointed early attacks on the British establishment and a signature work of his Stencil Boom Era.
Collector notes: Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 70. 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 print weaponizes the most rigidly chaste figurehead in British history — the monarch whose name became shorthand for sexual repression — by depicting her engaged in a lesbian act, collapsing imperial authority, prudish "Victorian values," and state power into a single transgressive image. It is Banksy operating at the intersection of his Royalty & Celebrity and Protest & Subversion themes: anti-establishment shock delivered with the economy of a single stencil and a punchy two-color palette. The red ground reads as both regal velvet and provocation, and the reductive black silhouette is the artist at his stenciling peak, making a complex political joke land instantly.
Collector Perspective
This is the unsigned edition of 70, published in 2003 during Banksy's most collectible early period. Unsigned copies sit below the signed edition in both price and desirability, and with only 70 produced the unsigned run is genuinely small — scarcer in raw numbers than many later, larger Banksy editions. A solid early-period acquisition rather than a blue-chip headline lot; the signed version commands the premium.
Historical Context
Produced in 2003, when Banksy was transitioning from Bristol and London street stencils into gallery-distributed editioned prints, Queen Victoria belongs to the Stencil Boom Era that defined his visual signature before the later stunts and record auction results. It targets Queen Victoria (reigned 1837–1901), whose era lent its name to a culture of sexual repression and imperial moralism; depicting her in an explicit same-sex act is a direct inversion of that legacy and of the monarchy's untouchable status. The work predates and anticipates Banksy's continued skewering of royal and national iconography across the 2000s.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned screenprint
- Release date
- 2003
- 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; saved release record states an edition size of 70.
- 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 2003, when Banksy was transitioning from Bristol and London street stencils into gallery-distributed editioned prints, Queen Victoria belongs to the Stencil Boom Era that defined his visual signature before the later stunts and record auction results. 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 2003.
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 Banksy print depict?
It shows Queen Victoria in full regalia — crown and sceptre — seated astride another woman in a stockinged, garter-clad pose, a deliberately explicit lesbian arrangement that subverts the icon of Victorian sexual propriety. It is rendered as a stark black silhouette on a deep red background.
What is the edition size?
The edition is 70.
Is this print signed or unsigned?
This is the unsigned edition. Banksy also produced a signed version of Queen Victoria, which typically commands a higher price; unsigned copies sit below signed ones in value and desirability.
What medium is it?
It is a screen print (screenprint), produced in 2003 in Banksy's two-color, single-stencil style.
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-establishment, anti-war and anti-capitalist messages, plus stunts like the self-shredding Girl with Balloon and the Walled Off Hotel.
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