For years, the identity of the street artist known as “Banksy” has been shrouded in mystery. Locals would wake up to find his work, the most famous of which is arguably Girl with Balloon, without knowing who to either thank or curse.
But an investigation by Reuters has finally linked a name to the graffiti works that first appeared on the art scene in the early 1990s.
Highlights
- A Reuters investigation has revealed Banksy’s true identity as a 51-year-old man from Bristol, UK.
- A 2000 NYPD arrest report includes a signed confession linking the man to Banksy.
- Banksy’s lawyer defended his anonymity, citing protection from threats and preserving freedom of expression.
Image credits: CBS Evening News
Reporters debunked the widespread theory that Banksy is musician Robert Del Naja, the frontman of Bristol group Massive Attack.
However, they discovered that Del Naja was likely a collaborator of the elusive artist and that the two had been creating art together in war-torn Ukraine.
Speaking with witnesses, the publication reported that the artwork was allegedly created within minutes in the Ukrainian village of Horenka in 2022 by two men with covered faces using spray cans and stencils.
Image credits: Stefano Guidi/Getty Images
One of them was Del Naja, and the other was Robin Gunningham, better known as Banksy.
The investigation notes that Gunningham is 51 years old and was born in the English city of Bristol. According to Reuters, the creative changed his name to David Jones, one of the most common British names, some years ago to protect his identity.
In a statement, Mark Stephens, the artist’s lawyer, told Reuters that his client “does not accept that many of the details contained within your enquiry are correct.”
Image credits: Times News
The lawyer explained that Banksy prefers to maintain his anonymity because he has “been subjected to fixated, threatening and extremist behavior.”
“[Working] anonymously or under a pseudonym serves vital societal interests,” Stephens continued.
“It protects freedom of expression by allowing creators to speak truth to power without fear of retaliation, censorship or persecution—particularly when addressing sensitive issues such as politics, religion or social justice.”
Image credits: Rex Features
The latest investigation confirms a 2008 report from The Daily Mail, which also linked Gunningham to Banksy’s artwork and wrote that it had “come as close as anyone possibly can to revealing” who Banksy was.
Reuters came to its conclusion after drawing information from several sources, including Banksy’s falling out with Jamaican photographer Peter Dean Rickards and interviews with witnesses in Ukraine using a photo lineup of graffiti artists rumored to be Banksy.
Additionally, the publication uncovered a 2000 NYPD arrest report including a signed, handwritten confession it said revealed “beyond dispute Banksy’s true identity.”
Responding to the statement from Banksy’s lawyer defending his anonymity, Reuters stood by its investigation, concluding that the public “has a deep interest in understanding the identity and career of a figure with his profound and enduring influence on culture, the art industry, and international political discourse.”
Graffiti is a crime in the UK, with penalties ranging from fines and community service to jail time.
Banksy's lawyer didn’t reveal whether his client has been penalized for his work.
Image credits: CBS Mornings
Still, he noted that some property owners are pleased to find one of Banksy’s graffiti works on their buildings.
“It appears that if people find a Banksy added to their wall, most of them call Sotheby’s rather than the police,” Stephens said, referring to the famous international auction house.
“The question of where the artist’s work sits in the legal landscape is an interesting one, and I’m as bemused as anyone else.”
The investigation mentions that Gunningham’s effort to remain anonymous began falling apart with his September 2000 arrest in New York.
Image credits: CBS Mornings
In a handwritten confession, the street artist admitted to making a “humorous adjustment to a billboard on top of the property on Hudson st.”
“Using a ladder, I painted eyeshadow, a new mouth, and a speech bubble,” the note reads, signed with his real name.
In 2004, photographer Peter Dean Rickards posted 21 photos of Banksy at work in Jamaica, many of which showed his face. The photos were later published by the Evening Standard, but they did not have Banksy’s name.
The artist’s former manager, Lazarides, told the paper at the time that the man in the photos was “someone else.”
Banksy is known for his provocative, and often satirical, street art. His work critiques capitalism and consumer culture, war, and immigration issues.
His Girl with Balloon, a little girl reaching for a heart-shaped balloon, has been interpreted as a symbol of lost innocence or hope.
Image credits: ITV News
In 2018, the stencil of the artwork, which had recently sold for $1.4 million, went up for resale at a Sotheby’s auction in London.
Little did fans know that the piece would get shredded by a device Banksy had secretly built into its frame.
“Some people think it didn’t really shred. It did,” Banksy posted on Instagram days after the sale. “Some people think the auction house were in on it. They weren’t.”
Renamed Love is in the Bin, the piece sold three years later for about $25 million.
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