Gangsta Rat
Gangsta Rat
Signed Print
Banksy
£45,000-£60,000
$90,000-$120,000 Value Indicator
$80,000-$110,000 Value Indicator
¥410,000-¥550,000 Value Indicator
€50,000-€70,000 Value Indicator
$440,000-$590,000 Value Indicator
¥8,510,000-¥11,340,000 Value Indicator
$60,000-$80,000 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Screenprint
Edition size: 150
Year: 2004
Size: H 50cm x W 35cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2021 | Forum Auctions London | United Kingdom | |||
| December 2020 | Forum Auctions London | United Kingdom | |||
| July 2017 | Forum Auctions London | United Kingdom | |||
| December 2011 | Waddington's | Canada | |||
| April 2008 | Bonhams Knightsbridge | United Kingdom | |||
| September 2007 | Sotheby's Online | United Kingdom |
Meaning & Analysis
Gangsta Rat (red) is a 2004 signed Banksy screen print released in an edition of 150. Banksy combines signature spray-paint and stencilling styles to depict a rat wearing baseball cap, chain, and ghetto blaster, New York underground style, with “IPOW” tagged on the wall behind the rat in red.
Gangsta Rat (Red) is largely monochrome print in Banksy’s iconic spray-stencil style, portraying a rat sitting next to a boombox. The character is wearing accessories typical of “gangster” street wear, such as a New York Mets baseball cap, an ear piercing and a long chain with a medal. There is a red tag behind the rat saying “IPOW” as the central splash of colour on the image. This is Banksy’s ironic nod to the ubiquity of Apple products and POW is a reference to the artist’s print publisher: Pictures on Walls. The rat character portrayed is reminiscent of the New York underground style that was prevalent across the UK in the 1980s and 90s, and also draws inspiration from the French graffiti artist Blek Le Rat, who originally started using rats as a symbol and is often called the Grandfather of stencil graffiti.
Banksy also reproduced Gangsta Rat as a mural in Farringdon in 2004, in Old Street in 2006 and New York City in 2013 on the occasion of the artist’s painting residency: Better Out Than In. Much like other artworks from the Rat series, such as Love Rat and Radar Rat, Gangsta Rat is a very popular print both in its unsigned and signed editions.
