Keep It Real
Keep It Real
Year: 2001
Medium: Acrylic and spray-paint stencil on canvas
Dimensions: 25.5×20.2 cm (10×8 inches)
Edition: From a series, unique in this format
Stenciled with the artist’s name on the right lateral edge
Auction History
Auction House: Sotheby’s Hong-Kong
Date: 1 April 2019
Price realized: USD 414,033
Keep It Real features one of Banksy‘s most iconic and popular images, the chimpanzee appearing here in one of its many incarnations as the loveable underdog with a sandwich board, underestimated and yet subversive, with the power to illicit social transformation.
Standing upright like a human being with their signature look of slouched shoulders and downturned eyes, Banksy‘s monkeys often popped up overnight on streets, walls and bridges of cities throughout the world. The text written on their boards are often times political and social commentary coming from the artist. As with a large number of the artist’s recurring stencils this image has appeared at auction on many occasions in many media.
