Legendary street artist Banksy apparently confirmed his real name in a decades-old interview unearthed Tuesday by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
The interview in question was from 2003 just as Banksy was coming into prominence, BBC noted.
“Is it Robert Banks?” asked the interviewer, an employee of BBC, to Banksy, the outlet reported.
“It’s Robbie,” the street artist responded.
The interviewer recalled 20 years later to BBC that he used the name that had been given to him in the morning. (RELATED: Art Smuggling Bust Uncovers Previously Unknown Jackson Pollock Painting Worth $54 Million: Reports)
Street artist Banksy confirms his name for the first time ever in lost interview https://t.co/bRwxteuQ2b pic.twitter.com/b7zxdDtFNU
— New York Post (@nypost) November 21, 2023
The interviewer recounted that there was no reason to think that Banksy was lying when he corrected the name, BBC reported. It is also possible that Banksy was making a clever pun about robbing banks given his anti-establishmentarian nature, another person interviewed by BBC noted.
Banksy engaged in vandalistic art to produce distinctive street portraits, the New York Post reported. Some pieces of his artwork have sold for millions of dollars, with the most expensive piece to date, Banksy’s “Love Is In The Bin” painting, sold for £18.6 million ($23 million) in Oct. 2021, according to Andipa Gallery.
Banksy’s decades-long street art career has spanned across the globe, but he has never been caught, the Post reported.
This unknown artist’s prominence has led toward many trying to unearth his real name. Back in 2008, the Daily Mail reported that Banksy’s real name was Robin Gunningham. Banksy, however, denied the report, the Guardian noted.