Banksy (about 1974?-…) is the public name of a mysterious and controversial British artist. Banksy has kept his identity a closely guarded secret, and in spite of much speculation, his real name remains unknown to the art world and general public. He has never specifically explained why he uses the name Banksy.
Banksy’s style is characterized by vivid images, often in combination with slogans. Much of his art is devoted to social criticism and satire, attacking such subjects as war, capitalism, hypocrisy, and greed. He has used a broad range of subjects in his art, including rats, apes, police officers, children, and members of the British royal family.
Banksy grew up in Bristol, England. He began his art career there in the early 1990’s, bombing (spraying) paintings and inscriptions called graffiti on public walls. In the late 1990’s, Banksy moved to London. He also had begun using stencils in his work. He expanded his style beyond graffiti to include works on canvas, sculptures, and freestanding art works called installations. Banksy’s fame spread internationally by the early 2000’s, and he bombed walls in cities in the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and the United States.
Banksy held a breakthrough exhibition of his work in 2003 in a former warehouse in London. The exhibit, called “Turf War,” attracted much attention and won praise for its circuslike displays of “art” objects. Among the objects were live farm animals, including a heifer decorated with a portrait of the American artist Andy Warhol . Another object was a picture of Queen Elizabeth II portrayed as a chimpanzee.
Banksy became popular with museums and art collectors, with works selling for more than one million dollars. An artwork called “Girl with Balloon” was sold by the London-based auction house Sotheby’s in 2018 for $1.4 million. Banksy had hidden a shredder within the frame, and the painting self-destructed moments after the work was purchased. Banksy was the subject of a motion picture documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010).
