For years, the true identity of the street artist Banksy has sparked widespread debate in England. What remains clear is that Banksy is a white man, believed to be from Bristol and born in the 1970s. A new approach to the question has even namechecked Robin Gunningham as a possible person behind Banksy, inviting fresh scrutiny into whether he is indeed the world’s most famous graffiti creator.
Gunningham has been named as a defendant alongside Pest Control Ltd, the company responsible for authenticating and selling Banksy works. The defamation case was brought by the artist Andrew Gallagher in London’s High Court. While prosecutors have not disclosed details of the legal process, Gallagher’s counsel has noted that a judge may eventually determine whether Gunningham is the artist. Gallagher’s lawyer, Aaron Wood, told the Daily Mail that many case details remain confidential for the time being.
Gallagher has previously clashed with Banksy’s representative about intellectual property rights. The anonymous artist sought to block Gallagher’s company from using one of Banksy’s famed paintings for a gift card, a dispute that underscores the ongoing tension between anonymity and ownership in the street art world. In 2020, the European Intellectual Property Office questioned whether Banksy could claim rights to his work given the artist’s anonymity.
main suspect
Robin Gunningham, aged around 53 and said to be born in Bristol, has previously been named in media investigations as the person most likely behind Banksy. In 2008, the Mail on Sunday pointed to Gunningham as a leading suspect, a claim that was later explored by interviews with former classmates, neighbors, and colleagues who confirmed the connections drawn by that report.
In 2016, a university study conducted in London proposed a provocative hypothesis: that Gunningham could be Banksy. The researchers described him as “the only serious suspect” and used a geographic profiling approach to map the locations of more than 100 Banksy works. The resulting activity centers aligned with addresses and places frequently visited by Gunningham and his circle, though representatives for Banksy publicly rejected this line of reasoning.
Across the globe, Banksy has produced hundreds of works—from London to Detroit and into conflict zones such as Gaza, Syria, and Ukraine. The artist directed the 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, which scrutinized the commercialization of art. Despite extensive media attention and ongoing speculation, the true identity remains officially unconfirmed.
At the heart of these debates lies a broader question about how anonymity, consent, and authorship intersect in contemporary street art. The ongoing mystery continues to fuel interest, research, and legal debates about the rights and responsibilities surrounding Banksy’s work. As authorities, journalists, and scholars weigh the evidence, the legend of Banksy endures, shaping how audiences interpret provocative street art and its claims to cultural significance.