Untitled (Fuck The Police)
Year: 2000
Medium: Acrylic and spray enamel on board
Dimensions: 122×122 cm (48×48 inches)
Edition: Unique
Stencil-signed “BANKSY”, lower right
Auction History
Auction House: Bonhams London
Date: 3 October 2019
Price realized: GBP 555,062 / USD 727,818
Set against a stark white background, a tense police officer has drawn his baton. He looks beyond confines of the board, but it is instantly apparent what, or better who, he is looking for. “Fuck the police” is written in crude red letters on the wall behind him. The officer is too late, the message is clear, and the culprit seems to have escaped, leaving his mocking anti-authoritarian slogan for everyone to see.
Untitled (Fuck the Police) from 2000 is a striking, early example of what was to become one of Banksy’s most iconic motifs. Banksy’s relationship with law enforcement is understandably difficult and the theme spreads throughout his career, most famously in 2005 with The Kissing Coppers on the wall of the Prince Albert Pub in Brighton and the Snorting Copper in London’s East End.
Like many of the artist’s best works Untitled (Fuck the Police)‘s success lies in its stark simplicity, rendered in black and red against the white board, the image possesses a visual immediacy and clean aesthetic that is key to its popularity.
