What to watch out for when investing in Banksy and other street art

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Graffiti is often seen as vandalism but in recent years the elusive street artist Banksy has turned spray painting into an art form worth a fortune.

On Wednesday the London-based Forum Auctions will be auctioning off more than 40 original Banksy prints – expected to sell for between £1,000 and £70,000 each.

These prints are limited edition copies made by Banksy of his graffiti wall art. One of the most iconic is Girl With Balloon and it has an estimated sales value of between £50,000 and £70,000.

When first produced in 2004 these signed prints were available for £150.

Record price: ‘Keep It Spotless’ depicting a maid cleaning underneath a Damien Hirst canvas sold for $1.7million

Original Banksy graffiti can go for seven-figure sums – the record price being $1.7million (£1.3million) paid in 2008 for a 2007 ‘Keep It Spotless’ painting depicting a maid cleaning underneath a Damien Hirst canvas.

Little is known about the anonymous guerrilla artist – other than he has come a long way since the early 1990s when as part of a Bristol-based underground movement he started using stencils.

This art technique was apparently inspired when Banksy was hiding from police under a dustcart and saw it had a serial number stencilled on to it – a technique that allowed him to speed up doing his graffiti art and make it harder for police to catch him.

In 2000, Banksy moved to London and started doing stencils of rats and chimps around the capital and elsewhere using satirical dark humour images that poked fun at the Establishment.

Advice: Rupert Worrall, of Forum Auctions. Right: Because I’m Worthless

Early classics included the 2002 sandwich board-wearing monkey ‘Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge’ that was painted on the side of a Brighton nightclub. It was later cut out and sold for £228,000 in 2008.

In 2003, Banksy started to become better known when he held an exhibition called Turf War at an anonymous London warehouse.

It included provocative images of Queen Elizabeth as a chimp and cows decorated with Andy Warhol portraits.

A Monkey Queen print – one of an edition of 150 made from this era – goes under the hammer at Forum Auctions on Wednesday with a £20,000 estimate.

A signed print of ‘Because I’m Worthless’ is expected to fetch between £15,000 and £20,000 in the auction.

Banksy’s reputation was cemented in 2003 when he provided the artwork for the Blur album Think Tank.

Banksy’s famous kissing coppers plus a George Best rear view, on a wall in Brighton

Art collector Kevin Brewer, 48, from Wimbledon in South-West London, says: ‘Even in 2003 Banksy prints were still being sold at car boot sales through his close friends.

Many collectors would only buy an unsigned print for £50 because the ones with a signature cost £150 and seemed expensive.’

Kevin, a sports therapist, adds: ‘Since 2003, prices have rocketed.

‘Original Banksy art is now only affordable for the super rich – and even limited edition prints cost thousands of pounds.’

Among the Banksy pieces owned by Kevin is a signed ‘Trolley Hunters’ colour print from 2006 bought for £1,700 in 2008 and now worth £12,000.

He also owns an unsigned ‘Have A Nice Day’ print from 2002. He paid £600 for the print which is now worth £4,000.

He says: ‘Just because prices have shot up in recent years, it does not mean they will continue to soar – certainly not at the current rate.

‘But it is a fascinating market and if you love the art, it can provide you with lots of pleasure. Yet be wary as the market does contain lots of fakes.

Websites such as the Urban Art Association can offer valuable advice but it is also vital to do your own homework and only buy what you like from someone you can trust. Do not just look at it as a way to make money.’

Vandalised Phone Box: A phone box with a pickaxe in its side sold for £361,900

Transport for London has also helped boost the kudos of Banksy’s graffiti by painting over or dismantling his artwork.

A Pulp Fiction mural of Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta holding bananas that stood on the side of Old Street tube station between 2003 and 2007 was eventually painted over by cleaners – for creating ‘a general atmosphere of neglect and social decay’.

Rupert Worrall, of Forum Auctions, says: ‘If you want to buy something by Banksy you should ask for a certificate of authenticity – be wary of buying from someone you know nothing about.

‘Buy through a reputable dealer who offers a guarantee to refund you in the extremely unlikely event that the piece is later found to be a forgery.’

He adds: ‘Original Banksy graffiti chiselled off a wall is not an official piece of artwork. Banksy will not put his name to these as he wants to put a stop to people cutting them out and trying to sell for a profit when they were meant to be for everyone.’

Simple Intelligence Testing sold for £636,500

Buying art through a dealership such as Forum Auctions means you get a certificate of authenticity from Banksy-owned company Pest Control Office – but the service comes at a price.

A seller using the auction house pays 15 per cent commission plus 1.5 per cent for insurance against accidental loss or theft.

A £100 sale means they pocket £83.50. Those buying must be aware there is also a hammer price commission of 25 per cent – so buying art for £100 actually costs you £125.

Banksy is not the only British street artist to capture the imagination of enthusiasts. Another is Stik who draws stick figures and boasts celebrity fans such as Elton John and Bono. His original canvases can sell for £5,000.