(Fr)agile
1 work
Banksy Laugh Now For Sale
Banksy
Laugh Now, 2003
Screen print
19 3/4 x 27 1/2 in 50 x 70 cm
Edition
AP Edition of 69
About this work
Banksy Laugh Now, 2003 Screen print 19 3/4 x 27 1/2 in 50 x 70 cm AP Edition of 69
Price on Application
Auction History
Laugh Now · Banksy · Bonhams · 2021-02 · $283,314
LAUGH NOW · Banksy · Sotheby's · 2008-07 · $241,009
Laugh Now · Banksy · Christie's · 2021-03 · $189,087
Laugh Now · Banksy · Sotheby's · 2021-09 · $139,103
Laugh Now · Banksy · Bonhams · 2021-06 · $138,662
More from this series
More series by Banksy
About the Laugh Now Series
Banksy Laugh Now Prints For Sale
Laugh Now stands as one of Banksy's most psychologically penetrating and commercially significant bodies of work, originally created in 2003 during a pivotal moment in the artist's evolution from underground provocateur to internationally recognized cultural force. The series features the now-iconic image of a sandwich-board wearing monkey emblazoned with the phrase "Laugh now, but one day we'll be in charge," a darkly prophetic statement that has only gained resonance in the two decades since its creation. This work represents Banksy's masterful ability to combine visual humor with underlying menace, creating imagery that simultaneously entertains and disturbs—a hallmark that has defined his most collectible pieces.
Technically, the Laugh Now series demonstrates Banksy's command of the stencil medium, with crisp lines and strategic color application that would become signature elements of his street art aesthetic. The composition's stark simplicity—a dejected primate bearing a warning to humanity—exemplifies the economy of visual language that separates Banksy from his contemporaries. The series exists in multiple iterations, including signed and unsigned versions, each commanding distinct positions within the secondary market. Signed editions carry premium valuations due to their rarity and verified provenance, while unsigned pieces remain accessible entry points for emerging collectors seeking authenticated Banksy works.
From a market perspective, Laugh Now occupies a crucial position in Banksy's chronology, bridging his early guerrilla street work with his later gallery-recognized pieces. The series has demonstrated consistent appreciation at auction, with signed examples particularly sought after by institutional and private collectors. The work's prescient commentary on power structures, animal rights, and societal hierarchy ensures its continued relevance, while its visual impact makes it among Banksy's most immediately recognizable images. Collectors value Laugh Now not only for its aesthetic merit but for its representation of a watershed moment when Banksy's cultural critique began reaching mainstream consciousness.
For authenticated examples and expert guidance on acquiring works from the Laugh Now series, collectors are encouraged to consult with Guy Hepner, a leading authority in contemporary street art and Banksy's secondary market.
About Banksy
Banksy prints for sale at Guy Hepner include authenticated signed and unsigned editions: Girl with Balloon, Choose Your Weapon, Tesco Soup Cans, Fragile, Laugh Now, and Flower Thrower. Buy Banksy prints in New York through our gallery at 177 Tenth Avenue — all works sourced with full provenance and authentication documentation. We also buy Banksy art and offer free valuations for sellers.
Banksy is the world’s most celebrated anonymous street artist — a figure whose identity remains unknown but whose visual language is instantly recognisable across continents. Emerging from the Bristol graffiti scene in the early 1990s, Banksy developed a stencil-based technique that allowed rapid, precise execution on walls, bridges, and public surfaces from London and New York to Gaza and the West Bank. His work fuses dark humour, political provocation, and formal rigour in a way that has made him equally at home on the street and in the auction room. Today, Banksy art for sale represents one of the most dynamic and hotly contested segments of the contemporary secondary market.
Banksy Art For Sale
Banksy art for sale encompasses original spray-painted canvases, unique works on board, signed and unsigned print editions, and — on rare occasions — documented wall works sold with photographic authentication. The breadth of subjects he has addressed is remarkable: consumer capitalism (Tesco Soup Cans, Trolley Hunters), celebrity culture (Kate Moss, Andy Warhol), surveillance and control (Radar Rat, CCTV Watching), and hope and fragility (Girl with Balloon, Fragile).
The benchmark auction event in Banksy’s market history remains the October 2018 Sotheby’s London sale, when Girl with Balloon — having just sold for £1.04 million — was partially shredded by a device concealed in the frame, becoming Love is in the Bin. The reconstituted work subsequently sold in October 2021 for £18.5 million, underscoring the extraordinary commercial power of Banksy’s interventions and the appetite of the global collector base for his most iconic imagery.
Banksy Paintings For Sale
Banksy paintings for sale — unique spray-painted works on canvas or board — are the rarest and most valuable category of his output. These works, typically produced in small numbers for specific shows or commissions, carry full documentation from Pest Control and have appeared at auction with results ranging from six to eight figures. Choose Your Weapon, Monkey Parliament, and large-format stencil canvases from his early 2000s output represent the apex of private collector demand.
Provenance is paramount for Banksy paintings. Unbroken ownership history from first sale through to the present day, combined with a current Pest Control certificate, is the minimum standard for any serious acquisition. Works without this documentation carry substantial authentication risk regardless of visual appearance.
Banksy Prints: Signed vs Unsigned
Banksy print editions form the most accessible and widely traded category of his market. Published through his own distribution channels and in very limited numbers, these screenprints exist in signed and unsigned variants — a distinction that has a significant impact on value. Signed editions — with Banksy’s hand signature — command multiples of two to five times comparable unsigned editions in the same print run.
Key print series sought by collectors include: Girl with Balloon (multiple colourways), Choose Your Weapon, Kate Moss, Tesco Soup Cans, Fragile, Radar Rat, Flower Thrower, and Di-Faced Tenners. Edition sizes vary from as few as 150 to several hundred, and sell-through rates at auction confirm strong secondary demand across all major series.
Banksy Authentication: Pest Control
Pest Control is Banksy’s official authentication body and the only organisation authorised to certify works as genuine. When you buy Banksy prints or original art, a current Pest Control Certificate of Authenticity (COA) is the non-negotiable standard. The COA features a torn currency note — half retained by Pest Control, half with the work — as a security measure, and is registered against a specific edition and owner.
At Guy Hepner Gallery, every Banksy work offered for sale is accompanied by Pest Control documentation. We do not offer works without verified authentication, and our team is available to guide collectors through the acquisition process, including condition reporting, framing recommendations, and insurance valuation.
Ready to buy Banksy art? Contact Guy Hepner to explore our current inventory of authenticated Banksy prints and original works.