The primary source for the photos on this blog is Banksy’s website and Banksy’s four books. Elsewhere, the photographer is indicated in the name of the “jpg”. The photos from Dismaland, the Walled Off Hotel, and some pictures of street art in London, Bristol, and Palestine come from my iPhone.
Real Banksy or not?
There is some confusion regarding the authenticity of certain street art pieces and his ‘inside’ work. The following sources reveal whether Banksy painted a particular motive:
Banksy himself:
- Banksy’s five books:
- Banging your head against a brick wall, 2001
- Existencilism, 2002
- Cut it Out, 2004
- Wall and piece, 2005
- Cut & Run, 2023
- Banksy’s website and Instagram account:
- Bankssy’s website, http://www.banksy.co.uk, has been publishing his work continuously, both street art and studio pieces, such as oils and sculptures, or “outside” and “inside,” as Banksy puts it.
- Banksy’s Instagram account: @banksy, or www.instagram.com/banksy/
External sources:
- The big auction firms. Forum Auctions, Christies, Sotheby’s, Phillips, and Bonhams are experts on Banksy’s studio artwork. If they claim that the piece is authentic Banksy, there are no reasons not to believe them. The serious auction houses don’t deal with Banksy street art pieces; they only sell legitimate ‘indoor’ art—prints, multiples, and unique works, such as oil paintings and sculptures.
- A few galleries in the UK have dealt with Banksy’s studio work for ages, and they have helpful information on their websites:
- Hanguppictures
- Andipa
- Castle Gallery Ltd. in Belfast
- Some independent websites have been operating for years and provide loads of historical information on Banksy:
- Similar websites like the one you are looking at now have sprung up in recent years, and they also have loads of info:
- Urban Art Association is a internetforum with a lot of information on Banksy and his peers
Other interesting accounts:
The Banksy Gross Domestic Product account on Instagram is most likely linked to Banksy: @banksygrossdomesticproduct, or https://www.instagram.com/banksygrossdomesticproduct/
Steve Lazarides Instagram: @stevelazarides, or https://www.instagram.com/stevelazarides/
Banksy Cut & Run on Instagram, previously Banksy Marketplace. It’s not an official account, but they do publish interesting stuff: @banksycutandrun, or https://www.instagram.com/banksycutandrun/
There is one page on Facebook that does a good job of publishing interesting Banksy stuff, and it’s called Banksy Locations: https://www.facebook.com/groups/768336387329279
Books:
- Home Sweet Home – Banksy’s Bristol. By Steve Wright & Richard Jones. An excellent compilation of Banksy’s early work in Bristol. Very well written by two real experts. A true gem of a book. Considered a reliable source of pictures and information.
- Banksy – The Man behind the Wall. By Will Ellsworth-Jones. An excellent read, very well documented and well written.
- Banksy, the early shows. 1992 – 2005. Edited by Uli Blanché and published by Heidelberg University. Very interesting! Downloadable for free here: https://books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/arthistoricum/catalog/view/1201/2062/108482
Authentication
How do you know that a Banksy print or original is authentic Banksy? The authenticity is certified by Banksy’s own office, Pest Control Office, http://www.pestcontroloffice.com. Upon request, and after investigating the motive, the condition, and the provenance of the piece, they issue a Certificate of Authenticity (COA). They do not issue COAs for street art pieces removed from buildings and streets.
False Banksy sources
As Banksy writes in the FAQ section on his official website, http://banksy.co.uk/faq.asp:
“Banksy is NOT on Facebook or Twitter”. Nevertheless, several Twitter and Facebook accounts claim they “are” the real Banksy, gathering millions of followers.
But there is one page on Facebook that does a good job of publishing interesting Banksy stuff, and it’s Banksy Locations: https://www.facebook.com/groups/768336387329279
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This blog is the result of a database of Banksy’s artwork I put together a few years ago. The only purpose is to create a chronological context for Banksy’s enormous production. There is no commercial intention.
Rikard Anderson, April 2016.
Banksy unofficial 