Mysterious graffiti artist Banksy 'could be unmasked' in High Court battle

03 October 2023 , 15:29

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Banksy's 'Girl with Balloon', which was sucked into a shredder as the hammer fell following a £1,042,000 bid (Image: Getty Images)

Banksy's long-hidden identity could soon be revealed after he was dragged into a High Court battle.

The world-famous graffiti artist has never been officially named or pictured, despite being known around for the world for his thought-provoking murals and installations.

His works include "Girl with Balloon", which was sucked into a shredder as the hammer fell following a bid of £1,042,000 at an auction at Sotheby's in October 2018. It was later re-released as a new piece entitled 'Love is in the Bin'. Several years ago, theories emerged that claimed his true identity was creative Robin Gunningham, a former public schoolboy from Bristol.

A new High Court case could threaten to expose Banksy's true identity (AFP via Getty Images)

Now, reports have emerged that Banksy has been named as first defendant in a defamation case against him and his art sales company, Pest Control Ltd. It raises the prospect that he could soon be legally named in court.

The case is being brought to the High Court by 56-year-old Andrew Gallagher, an entrepreneur who began work in the 1990s music industry before later branching out into graffiti. Mr Gallagher's lawyer, Aaron Wood of Brandsmiths, told the MailOnline that details of the lawsuit are "confidential and will remain so until Banksy or Pest Control file their acknowledgement of service. For this reason." He added: "I'm not at liberty to say any more about the claim."

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In 2016, scientists at Queen Mary University of London said they had studied the positions of Banksy's work in Bristol and London to prove Robin Gunningham is the graffiti artist. The guerrilla painter, whose notorious works have sold for millions, was first rumoured to be Mr Gunningham back in 2008. The team said they had 'tagged' locations linked to Banksy and identified an obvious pattern between artworks and addresses he often visits in Bristol and London. They explained in their study they had used the so-called “Dirichlet process mixture (DPM) model of geographic profiling, " a technique developed by criminologists.

The study was published in in the Journal of Spatial Science to demonstrate the diverse use of geographic profiling, though Banksy's legal team reportedly contacted university staff with concerns about how it was to be promoted, and asked for a press release to be withdrawn. Mr Gunningham went to Bristol Cathedral School, the same as model and reality TV personality Sophie Anderton. The link between Mr Gunningham and Banksy has never been confirmed.

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas