Girl With Balloon

A sealed bid item is a lot where there may be up to 2 or 3 available. Please place your top bid to be in with a chance of winning!

Girl with Balloon is perhaps Banksy’s most notable and iconic work. It is also often referred to as "There is Always Hope." A 2017 public poll ranked Girl with Balloon as the UK’s number one favourite artwork. The image depicts a young girl, whose hair and dress are blowing in the wind, reaching for (or releasing) a red, heart-shaped balloon that has slipped from her grasp. The red balloon, as the only spot of color, is an archetypal symbol of childhood and freedom many of us connect with. More than a simple child’s toy, it evokes fragility of what it stands for: innocence, dreams, hope and love. Her heartbreaking gesture reaches out to all of us making this one of the most recognizable artworks of the 21st century. This iconic visual first appeared in London’s Southbank in 2002 and was accompanied by the quotation “There is always hope”. The prize you are bidding for is open edition unsigned print of a photograph of the original mural. Sadly the city council ordered the work to be painted over and it no longer exists.