Does Anyone Know Who Banksy Is? There Has Been Plenty of Speculation

Several of Banksy's street art pieces have garnered national attention. Whenever the tagger introduces a new piece to the public, they usually go viral. His name has become synonymous with mystery and a unique aesthetic, which has led many to ask: Does anyone know who Banksy really is?

It's hard to remember a modern artist who's gained as much notoriety as Banksy. While his true identity remains unconfirmed, there are a few theories as to who the anonymous painter really is. Grove Gallery and the BBC both write that he is believed to originally hail from Yate, a South Gloucestershire town in South West England, near Bristol.

One of the first pieces that established his name as an artist was titled the Mild Mild West. The mural was painted in Stokes Croft of Bristol, in 1999. It shows a teddy bear tossing a Molotov cocktail at three police officers branding riot shields.

The title of the painting, Mild Mild West, is emblazoned atop the artwork, and at its bottom, the artist's moniker, "Banksy!" is spelled out beneath it. Over the years, many of Banksy's works follow a recurring theme: images of authoritarian figures presented in satirical situations are considered a Banksy trademark.

In the same BBC piece covering Banksy's identity, the outlet highlights how the artist seemingly confirmed his name in a 2003 audio interview. During a dialogue with journalist Nigel Wrench, Banksy is asked if his name is "Robert Banks."

The artist, who goes by Banksy during the conversation, tells Wrench, "It's Robbie." Furthermore, the Daily Mail wrote that it all but confirmed that Banksy is a Robert Gunningham who attended the Bristol Cathedral school. The outlet included a 1989 photograph of Gunningham in a student lineup.

Additionally, the Mail provided a photograph of a man kneeling on a street in Jamaica. A stencil, trash bin, and black messenger bag rest in front of him, along with a can of spray paint. The picture is said to have been taken in 2004, and there are claims that it is of the elusive English artist at work on one of his pieces.

However, Banksy and those close to the artist deny that the man in the picture is him. But the Daily Mail article appears to indicate that it's the same Robin Gunningham photographed at the Bristol Cathedral School.

The reluctance to divulge just who he is could lie in what makes people gravitate toward his art. He's had a number of high-profile clients purchase his artwork, including the likes of Brad Pitt, Robbie Williams, Kate Moss, Drake, and Bono.

Banksy's artwork carries a lot of political and punk rock undertones. The Daily Mail suggests that discovering a satirist who rose to fame with works that raise a middle finger to the man is an upper-middle-class kid who attended a prestigious school might shatter the Banksy mythos.

I.e. someone who glorifies the struggle of oppressed and impoverished people against a successful class of people, despite descending from that ruling class himself.

The outlet interviewed fellow students from Robin Gunningham's class, like Scott Nurse, who "remember[s] Robin ... as being a particularly gifted artist." Nurse said that Robin was "extremely talented at art. [And] he did lots of illustrations."

Nurse said that he wouldn't be surprised at all if his fellow student at Bristol Cathedral School ended up being Banksy.