One of the art world's biggest modern mysteries may have just been solved.
A new report fromReutersclaims to have once-and-for-all unmasked the elusive graffiti artistBanksy, who has been operating under the condition of complete anonymity since the early 1990s.
The investigation, published Friday, combs through and eventually sets aside some of the buzzier theories as to the "Girl with Balloon" artist's true identity. Is he the Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja? Or the street artist Thierry Guetta, also known as Mr. Brainwash, who was the subject of the Oscar-nominated documentaryExit Through the Gift Shop, which Banksy directed and also featured in — completely disguised, of course?
After nearly three decades of speculation, Reuters journalists Simon Gardner, James Pearson, and Blake Morrison claim "beyond dispute" that Banksy is a man named Robin Gunningham.
Entertainment Weeklydid not immediately hear back from Pest Control Office, the agency the artist founded to sell his work and respond to press requests.
The final identification started with a clue fromBanksy Captured, a 2019 memoir from Steve Lazarides, who managed the artist from the late 1990s through 2008. The year that book was published, Lazarides posted a photo from 2000 of an "aborted Banksy work" to his Instagram - a defacedMarc Jacobsbillboard in New York City that was left incomplete after authorities allegedly arrested the artist.
Police documents and a court file relating to the arrest unearthed by Reuters repeatedly make reference to Gunningham - who signed his own name at the bottom of a written confession.
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Though police sought to charge Gunningham with a felony, he was released and the charges were reduced to a misdemeanor after posting $1,500 bail, temporarily turning over his passport, and completing five days of community service.
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Gunningham lived for a time at New York City's legendary Carlton Arms Hotel, which he listed as his primary residence on a bail form. He painted walls and even an entire room there in exchange for board, signing them "Robin Banks," shortened later to Banksy.
This isn't the first time Gunningham has been suspected as the real hand behind the mysterious graffiti artist.The Daily Mailpointed the finger at Gunningham in 2008, the same year he legally changed his name to David Jones. But suspicions persisted around figures like Del Naja, Guetta, and British politician Billy Gannon.
Banksy started out as a guerilla artist whose quickly rendered, stencil-like illustrations with an often highly political charge garnered him instant notoriety. He has made work in innocuous corners of major metropolitan cities like London and New York City, but has also become known for provocative illustrations left in conflict zones like Ukraine and the Palestinian West Bank.
His work is owned by the likes ofBrad PittandChris Martin.
One of his most iconic works, "Girl with Balloon," sold at a London auction in 2018 for $1.4 million. Minutes after the sale was finalized, the workpublicly self-destroyedvia a shredding device hidden inside the frame. Renamed "Love is in the Bin," the worksold three yearslater for a record $25.4 million.
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