BANKSY’S identity could soon be revealed in the High Court.
He is the most famous graffiti artist in the world, but despite being known across the globe, his true identity has never been revealed.
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But in 2008, it was alleged that Banksy is Bristol-born artist Robin Gunningham.
And now it’s been revealed that Gunningham, 50, has been named as the first defendant in a legal action accusing him of defamation.
His co-defendant is Pest Control Ltd – the company which sells Banksy’s art.
Graffiti pioneer Andrew Gallagher, 56, filed the lawsuit – but his lawyer, Aaron Wood of Brandsmiths, told MailOnline: “I’m not at liberty to say any more about the claim.”
Banksy’s work has been spotted around the south of England, including London, and Bristol, although his art has often popped up in prominent international locations.
Although many people have tried to guess who he is, his identity has never been revealed.
Banksy first came to notice for spray-painting trains and walls in his home city of Bristol during the early 1990s.
Street art and graffiti can be considered criminal damage, so initially it is thought the artist chose to be anonymous to avoid a run-in with the law.
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After his work in Bristol, in the 2000s his artwork started appearing in other locations in the UK, from Brighton to Hull, as well as other parts of the world. You can see a full list of Banksy’s street work here.
Far from the rebellious tearaway, what we know about Robin paints more a picture of middle class suburbia.
Robin was born in 1973 in Bristol, also known to be Banksy’s long-supposed stomping ground.
He was a pupil at Bristol Cathedral School.
Robin’s father, Peter Gordon Gunningham, was a retired contracts manager from the Whitehall area of Bristol.
His mother, Pamela Ann Dawkin-Jones, was a company director’s secretary and grew up in the exclusive surroundings of Clifton where he also has an older sister called Sarah.
When Robin was nine, the family moved to a larger home in the same street and it is there he spent his formative years and became interested in graffiti.
Banksy has never confirmed his identity.
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Other reports have suggested that he could be artist and musician Robert del Naja, another graffiti artist and member of the Bristol arts collective The Wild Bunch.
Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan denied he was Banksy in 2020, after a bizarre conspiracy theory about his identity swept the internet.
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