Gauntlet Gallery — Banksy Prints
Soup Can (Signed)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
A flat, single-can portrait of a "Tesco Value Cream of Tomato Soup, 400g" tin rendered in clean blue-and-white supermarket livery against a pale cream ground. It is Banksy's deadpan British answer to Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans, swapping American brand aspiration for the UK's cheapest no-frills budget label.
Collector notes: Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 50. 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
Where Warhol celebrated the gleaming abundance of post-war American consumerism, Banksy reaches for the most downmarket product on a British shelf: the Tesco Value range, a brand engineered to signal cheapness. By appropriating Pop art's most famous gesture and pointing it at supermarket austerity, the print skewers both consumer culture and the art market that turned soup cans into blue-chip commodities. It is one of Banksy's most direct, legible art-historical jokes and a cornerstone image of his Capitalism and Consumerism theme.
Collector Perspective
A hand-signed edition of 50 puts this among the scarcer Banksy soup-can configurations, which were issued by Pictures on Walls in several colourways and in both signed and unsigned states. Demand is steady because the image is instantly recognizable and reads as a pure Banksy concept; condition (the broad cream field shows handling and toning easily) and authentication documentation are the main value drivers.
Historical Context
Produced in 2005 during Banksy's most prolific stencil-and-screenprint period, when Pictures on Walls was releasing the editions that built his secondary market. The work directly references Andy Warhol's 1962 Campbell's Soup Cans, transposing the idea onto Tesco Value, the deliberately plain budget sub-brand British shoppers associated with thrift. It sits alongside other consumer-brand send-ups from the era and predates Banksy's later large-scale consumerist statements such as Gross Domestic Product.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned screenprint
- Release date
- 2005
- 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 50.
- 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 2005 during Banksy's most prolific stencil-and-screenprint period, when Pictures on Walls was releasing the editions that built his secondary market. 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 2005.
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 single tin of Tesco Value Cream of Tomato Soup (400g) in blue-and-white supermarket packaging on a cream background, a British budget-brand riff on Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans.
What is the edition size?
This signed version is an edition of 50. Banksy issued the soup can in several colourways and in both signed and unsigned states; the unsigned runs are larger.
Is this print signed?
Yes.
What medium and year is it?
A screen print from 2005, published during Banksy's Pictures on Walls period.
Who is Banksy?
An anonymous England-based street artist who emerged from Bristol in the early 1990s, known for fast stencil work, dark humour, and anti-establishment imagery, with many prints published through Pictures on Walls.
Related Banksy Works
