Tab Claims It's ID'd Graffiti Artist Banksy

UK guerrilla tagger turns out to have posh background
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 14, 2008 10:56 AM CDT
Tab Claims It's ID'd Graffiti Artist Banksy
A Palestinian security force officer holds his rifle next to a painting, allegedly by British artist Banksy, depicting a peace dove wearing a flak jacket, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.   (AP Photo)

An exhaustive investigation has uncovered the carefully guarded identity of guerrilla graffiti artist Banksy, the Mail on Sunday claims. The man whose works are coveted by celebrities and sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars is Robin Gunningham, now 35, who attended a posh private school as the son of middle-class parents in Bristol, in the west of England.

Details ring true with supposed former schoolmates, landlords, and associates: "He did lots of illustrations," said one ex-classmate, shown a school picture. "I am not at all surprised if he is Banksy." The Mail tracked down Gunningham's mother, who seemed startled by photos but denied she had a son. His supposed father also denied relations—and Banksy's PR flak would neither confirm nor deny. (More United Kingdom stories.)

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