Skip to content Loading

Buy any 3 artworks and save 15%

Bethlehem by Banksy
Death by Banksy
Insane Clown by Banksy
b. 1974 · British

Banksy

Banksy emerged from the Bristol underground scene in the early 1990s, starting as a freehand graffiti artist before switching to stencils after hiding from police under a rubbish lorry. A sprayed serial number on its underside gave him the idea: stencils were faster, repeatable, and allowed a precision that freehand work could not match.

1 source

Portrait of Banksy

Biography

The identity behind the pseudonym has never been confirmed, despite decades of speculation and several newspaper investigations. This anonymity is functional, not theatrical. Graffiti is illegal, and Banksy operates at a scale that requires avoiding detection across multiple countries and continents.

Girl with Balloon first appeared on a stairway near Waterloo Bridge in 2002. The image of a small girl reaching for a heart-shaped balloon was repeated across London; all original sites were painted over by 2007. One version, carefully removed from a shop wall, sold for half a million pounds in 2015.

In October 2018, a framed copy of Girl with Balloon sold at Sotheby's for £1.04 million. Seconds after the hammer fell, a shredder hidden inside the frame activated and half-destroyed the work. The partially shredded piece, renamed Love Is in the Bin, later resold for £18.6 million in 2021.

Dismaland, a dystopian theme park in Weston-super-Mare, opened for five weeks in the summer of 2015. Fifty-eight artists contributed installations inside a derelict lido. After closing, the materials were shipped to Calais to build shelters for refugees.

Timeline

  1. 1974Born in Bristol, UK
  2. 1990Emerged from Bristol underground scene as graffiti artist
  3. 2002Girl with Balloon first appeared near Waterloo Bridge
  4. 2007Original Girl With Balloon sites painted over
  5. 2015Girl with Balloon sold for half a million pounds
  6. 2015Dismaland opened in Weston-super-Mare for five weeks
  7. 2018Girl with Balloon shredded at Sotheby's after sale
  8. 2021Love Is in the Bin resold for £18.6 million

Next stop

Browse the movements →

Every movement in the collection, from the Renaissance to Pop art.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is Banksy known for?
    Banksy is known for creating artworks in public places all over the world. He started as a freehand graffiti artist before switching to stencils, which allowed for faster and more precise work.
  • What is Banksy's most famous work?
    Banksy's Girl With Balloon, first appearing in 2002, is one of his best-known pieces. The stencilled image depicts a girl in the wind, losing hold of her heart-shaped red balloon. The work was executed in several locations around London. By 2007, the original paintings had been painted over; however, one version was carefully removed from a shop wall and preserved. It sold for £500,000 in 2015. In 2017, Girl With Balloon was voted Britain’s favourite artwork. Banksy's graffiti is often political. To maintain anonymity, he uses stencils, which allow him to work quickly and accurately. His anonymity is central to his work, as graffiti is illegal. Banksy's work often features rats, apes, police officers, members of the royal family, and children. In 2018, a framed Girl With Balloon sold at auction. After the sale, the artwork passed through a hidden shredder that Banksy had secretly installed. The shredding stopped halfway.
  • What should I know about Banksy's prints?
    Banksy's prints, like those of other artists, are often produced in limited editions. The artist determines the size of the edition, not the medium itself. A limited edition is defined by a stated limit to the number of prints made. Each print in an edition is typically numbered. The edition number appears on the bottom left margin of the print, written in pencil as a fraction: the print number above a short line, and the edition size below. The print's title is written in the centre of the bottom margin, and the artist's signature (or chop mark) appears on the bottom right. These conventions, while informal, are widely respected among printmakers. Besides numbered editions, other designations may appear, such as "A/P" for artist's proof (identical to the edition, up to 10% of the edition size), "T/P" for early proofs, "V2" (or similar) for a variant edition with colour changes or block alterations, "V/E" for a variable edition with hand colouring, or "Hors de Commerce" for a non-commercial print identical to the edition.
  • What style or movement did Banksy belong to?
    Banksy is a British graffiti artist whose work contains political and social commentary. His pieces often take the form of satirical, realistic images on walls and bridges in cities internationally. It is difficult to assign Banksy to one specific artistic style. His work has elements of abstract art, but with an added dimension of social critique. From around 1970, art movements emerged and dissolved quickly. Artists used a broader range of materials and approaches, including video, performance, computers, the internet, and traditional materials. Pluralism, incorporating a variety of styles, ideas, and cultural trends, seemed the most appropriate way of describing it all. Postmodernism is another term for art movements that sought to challenge aspects of Modernism. Postmodern art is often quirky, absurd, irreverent, or meaningless. Postmodernists often work with new technologies, including television, video, smartphones, and computers, sourcing, manipulating, and processing imagery.
  • What techniques or materials did Banksy use?
    Banksy is known for using stencils and spray paint to create graffiti art. Spray paint became popular among street artists because it is portable and quick to apply. Banksy turned to stencils to speed up his process, create more precise images, and repeat designs. The artist saw a stencilled serial number while hiding from the police, which inspired this technique. This method also allows for accuracy and realism. Banksy's materials are fitting for the anti-establishment statements conveyed in the works. The location of the works, often on public buildings, reinforces the intention of creating art accessible to all. One example is *Girl With Balloon*, which first appeared on a stairway to Waterloo Bridge in London in 2002. The image has crossed boundaries, and in 2017, it was voted Britain’s favourite work of art. Banksy's identity remains unconfirmed, which is central to the artist's activity, as graffiti is illegal.
  • What was Banksy known for?
    Banksy is a British street artist who began creating public art in the early 1990s. Working mostly at night, the artist's identity remains a secret. Banksy is thought to be male and is known for artworks in public places all over the world. Banksy started out spray-painting images on walls and trains in Bristol, where there was already a street-art scene. By the 2000s, Banksy's style was recognisable internationally. Banksy's artworks are often created with stencils, allowing for a quick painting process. The artist was influenced by the French graffiti artist Blek le Rat. Banksy's art mixes humour with serious subjects, such as war. Recurring images in the artist's work include rats, apes, police officers, members of the royal family, and children. Banksy has used money made from artworks to support social causes. During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Banksy painted a black-and-white picture of a boy playing with a nurse doll styled as a superhero. The artwork was meant to recognise the bravery of doctors and nurses working at that time. A year later, the artwork sold at auction for more than $23 million (£16 million), and Banksy gave all the money to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
  • When did Banksy live and work?
    Banksy is a British street artist whose dates of birth and death are unknown; he is considered to be active from the 1990s to the present. Working at night under a pseudonym, Banksy began creating public art in the early 1990s. He spray-painted images on walls and trains in Bristol, where there was already a strong graffiti subculture. By the 2000s, his distinctive stencil style became recognisable worldwide. In 2015, Banksy built Dismaland, his dark version of Disneyland, in the UK seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare. Prepared in secret, the installation included ten new works by Banksy and art from fifty-eight other artists. During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, he painted a black-and-white picture of a boy playing with a nurse doll styled as a superhero; it was intended to recognise the bravery of doctors and nurses working at that time. A year later, the artwork sold at auction for more than $23 million (£16 million), and he donated all the money to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
  • Where can I see Banksy's work?
    Banksy's works appear in many locations, often unannounced. Because his pieces frequently appear in public spaces, specific locations can be difficult to predict or guarantee. Some museums and galleries, however, do include street art or urban art in their collections. In the UK, you might see examples of this genre at the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, the Geffrye Museum in London, the Manchester Art Gallery, the National Museums of Scotland (Royal Museum) in Edinburgh, or the Victoria & Albert Museum, also in London. Outside the UK, museums such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts sometimes include similar works. Always check the museum's current exhibitions to confirm what is on display.
  • Where was Banksy from?
    Banksy is a British street artist whose identity remains unconfirmed. He began creating public art in the early 1990s. Bristol, in the UK, is considered his home. The city already had a strong graffiti culture when Banksy started spray-painting images on walls and trains there. Banksy is known for working at night and keeping his identity secret, which is central to his artistic practice. Graffiti is illegal; therefore, evading identification is a point of honour among graffiti artists. This need for speed and anonymity led to his adoption of stencils. Many believe Banksy's real name is Robin Gunningham, though this has not been proven. Banksy played football with the Easton Cowboys, a small team in the UK. His art often combines humour with serious subjects, such as war. One of his well-known works, *Girl With Balloon*, first appeared in London in 2002.
  • Who did Banksy influence?
    Banksy's influence is complex and contested. As a street artist working since the early 1990s, Banksy gained recognition for stencil art that combines humour with serious subjects, such as war. Early in his career, Banksy was influenced by the French graffiti artist Blek le Rat, often called the "father of stencil graffiti". Banksy's rise coincided with street art's increasing commercial success from the mid-2000s. Social media allowed street art to be shared globally, which drove artists to seek praise and fame. Banksy combined anonymity with a signature style, achieving celebrity and market value. His simple messages and familiar advertising techniques have been both praised and criticised. Some critics on the right view graffiti as vandalism, while some on the left consider Banksy's anarchy as too tame. Despite debates about Banksy's artistic merit, his work appears in prestigious collections. Artists such as George Condo, JR, Shepard Fairey, and KAWS have followed a similar path.
  • Who influenced Banksy?
    Banksy began creating public art in Bristol in the early 1990s, where a street-art subculture already existed. His early work suggests the influence of Blek le Rat, a French graffiti artist often called "the father of stencil graffiti". Banksy's artworks are often created with stencils, which allow him to work quickly. His pieces combine humour with serious subjects, such as war. Conceptual art may also have had an impact. Artists belonging to the British Art & Language group, with its core of art faculty and students from Coventry, England, engaged with pedagogy and polemics in the late 1960s. Their work included enumeration, diagrams, data sheets, and manifestos. Joseph Kosuth, an American editor of the group, created Information Room (The Third Investigation) (1969), a philosophical study centre.
  • Who was Banksy?
    Banksy is the nickname of a British street artist whose identity remains unknown. Thought to be a man, Banksy began creating public art in the early 1990s. He is known for spray-painted images on walls and trains, initially in Bristol, where there was already a street-art scene. By the 2000s, his distinct style was recognisable worldwide. Banksy's artworks often employ stencils and combine humour with serious subjects, such as war. Stencils allow him to execute works quickly. Early in his career, he was influenced by the French graffiti artist Blek le Rat, often called “the father of stencil graffiti”. Many believe Banksy is a man named Robin Gunningham, but this has not been confirmed. In 2020, he painted a picture of a boy playing with a nurse doll styled as a superhero; it was sold at auction for over £16 million, and the money was donated to the UK’s National Health Service.

Sources

Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Banksy.

  1. [1] book Dorling Kindersley, Artists: Inspiring Stories of the World's Most Creative Minds Used for: biography.

Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-07-15. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.

Keep exploring

Your cart
Rated 4.7 on Judge.me
Your cart is empty
Have an account? Log in to check out faster.
Continue shopping Continue shopping
Cart total £0.00 GBP
Product image Product information Quantity Product total