File photo dated 14/2/2023 of the artwork by street artist Banksy, titled ‘Valentine’s Day Mascara’ on the side of a building in Margate, Kent. The artwork depicts a 1950’s housewife, wearing a classic blue pinny and yellow washing up gloves, with a swollen eye and a missing tooth seemingly shoving her male partner into a chest freezer. The ‘6 million work has been lifted by crane into a new exhibition in London. Issue date: Tuesday Sept. 12, 2023. (Press Association via AP Images)
Thanks to a new lawsuit alleging defamation, tongues are wagging about the real identity of the enigmatic British street artist Banksy, whose cutting and graphic works have spanned the globe, sparking controversy and delight for roughly 30 years.
The Daily Mail was first to report this week that a man long believed to be Banksy has been sued for defamation in the United Kingdom’s High Court. The plaintiff, Andrew Gallagher, a former rave and club promoter who helped mainstream the commercialization of graffiti art, reportedly listed “The Artist Known as Banksy” as the defendant in the suit, as well as someone identified as Robin Gunningham, 53, of Bristol.
Alongside Gunningham, Gallagher listed a company established by the guerrilla artist that operates as a “guardian” for the work as well as authenticating and selling it, Pest Control Ltd. A day after the lawsuit was initially reported, the Daily Mail identified another defendant in the suit: Joy Millward, a former UK parliamentary lobbyist with a low-profile and reported wife of Gunningham.
