In a lengthy investigation last week, Reuters said it had determined the true identity of Banksy, the globally renowned street artist whose closely guarded anonymity has for decades captivated the art world nearly as much as his work.
The reclusive artist emerged from the graffiti underground in Bristol, England, and London in the 1990s and 2000s. He became known for his slyly composed and often political murals, such as “Girl With Balloon” and “Flower Thrower,” which seemed to appear spontaneously overnight on public streets and buildings. In recent decades, his work has drawn fervent crowds and fetched millions at auction.
The Reuters investigation identifies him as a man born Robin Gunningham, whom a British tabloid said was Banksy in 2008.
The evidence provided by Reuters includes a police report and court filing associated with Banksy’s arrest when he painted a billboard in New York in 2000, as well as an interview with someone who said a man matching Gunningham’s biographical details was traveling in Ukraine when a Banksy mural appeared there in 2022.
A lawyer and an agent for Banksy did not respond to a request for comment from The New York Times.
Who is Robin Gunningham?
In 2008, an investigation by The Mail on Sunday argued that Gunningham was Banksy. The newspaper had interviewed a Bristol resident who had said the man in a photograph believed to show the artist at work was Gunningham. It had also interviewed a former neighbor who had said Gunningham and Banksy were the same person.
Gunningham was born in Bristol in 1973 and attended the Bristol Cathedral School, where he played rugby and hockey, acted in school plays and practiced art, according to The Mail and publicly available records. Illustrations and a comic strip that Gunningham contributed to the school’s student magazine were uncovered by The Irish Sun in 2024.
Representatives for Banksy did not respond to The Mail’s request for comment, and Gunningham’s father denied that his son was Banksy.
What Is the New Evidence?
At the center of the Reuters investigation are a police report and court filing related to an episode in 2000 when authorities arrested Gunningham for disorderly conduct in New York. That year, according to a book written by Banksy’s manager at the time, Steve Lazarides, the artist was arrested while trying to paint over a billboard on the top of a building.
Using a photo that Lazarides posted to social media, Reuters identified the building as 675 Hudson Street. It published police documents of Gunningham’s arrest that show he confessed to having defaced a billboard at that address, signing a handwritten statement with his name. In a related court filing, Gunningham listed his address as the Carlton Arms Hotel, a historic artist haven that Banksy is known to have frequented.
At some point after The Mail on Sunday’s exposé, Banksy legally changed his name, Lazarides told Reuters. Citing public documents, Reuters said the artist had been going by “David Jones.”
Reuters spoke with a person who said a David Jones had traveled to Ukraine between October and November 2022. Shortly thereafter, Banksy unveiled a series of murals in the country. That David Jones’s identification listed the same birth date as Robin Gunningham’s.
The person also told Reuters that Jones’s travel dates matched those of Robert Del Naja, a known associate of Banksy’s and a founder of the trip-hop band Massive Attack, who was spotted in Ukraine at that time.
How Might the Report Affect Banksy Prices?
Acoris Andipa, a London gallerist who has specialized in Banksy paintings and prints for 20 years, said he did not think the news would affect Banksy’s market in the medium to long term.
“My clients buy Banksy’s art because of the art itself,” Andipa said. “They take value into consideration, but that’s not their main concern. I can’t see them changing that approach.” He added, “The majority of Banksy buyers don’t care about his identity or want to know his identity.”
Demand for the artist’s work has declined since 2021, when the Banksy market was a main beneficiary of the momentum the coronavirus pandemic gave to online art sales. The artist makes little money from resales on the secondary market.
In 2021, the annual value of Banksy auction sales increased threefold, to an all-time high of $171.3 million, making him the sector’s eighth biggest-selling artist. In 2025, his auction sales collapsed to $13.3 million, and his ranking dropped to 102, according to the Artprice database.
The slump was part of a wider decline in the demand for contemporary art, Andipa said. The latest test of the Banksy market began on Tuesday, when Christie’s opened its online-only auction Contemporary Edition: London, which will last through March 31.
The sale features nine Banksy prints, including a rare “Kate Moss (Original Colourway),” spoofing Andy Warhol’s famous 1960s “Marilyn” silk-screen series. That print, from an edition of 50 made in 2005, is estimated to sell for between $93,000 and $132,000. In 2021, according to Artprice, another print from the edition sold for $386,576.
Reggie Ugwu is a Times culture reporter.
The post What to Know About Banksy and the Effort to Unmask Him appeared first on New York Times.
