Uh … don’t think so.  Not even similar to Banksy, but I guess since he’s the Name most people would understand as “graffiti”, that’s the reference the author chose to use.  Weak.

Anyway, I hope this kid is painting on legal walls, since she’s in quite a few of the pictures and even shown shooting the paint on the wall.  Cute.

62% of the items Sold

35% went Unsold

3% were Withdrawn.

Given the market for collectible art today (which is fairly weak and correlated to the broader economy), the results are not terrible.  I imagine that there were some who were disappointed that some of the premier pieces were not sold (notably Haring and Banksy), however the Blek Le Rat art did sell (glad to see that Banksy’s influences are recognized) … but again, given the current market, this is a decent showing for a Street Art (aka Graffiti Art Auction).  

I look forward to seeing more of these types of auctions.

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Results for Sale 1492, Street Art.

Generated at 9:54:33 AM on the Monday, January 05, 2009,

The following prices includes the buyer’s premium and taxes.

Total: €368,916

If you collect graffiti art, auctions of this caliber are few and far between.  Link to Artcurial Street Art Auction

Below is a sampling of their Graffiti Art For Sale:

Yes ... This is Banksy ... Jack and Jill

Blek Le Rat ... an obvious influence on Banksy

More Blek Le Rat

Crash ... this one is nice

Mo' Crash

Keith Haring ... The real deal ... wow

Jag ... early 3d

Damn ... Nick Walker Ghetto Ghosts ... You need to know this dude

Quik .. a real old school champ

Nice work from Teurk

From Obey ... You know this guy ... he's responsible for the iconic 2008 Obama picture ... this guy is major

Seems like $750k is too much to pay for Banksy Graffiti Art, even if he is the Worlds most famous Graffiti.  The art does clearly represent his style, and may not be too pricey in decades from now.  The problem is that it’s on a wall of a pub.  Something tells me that should bring it’s value down significantly.  The new owner better hope property values in his neighborhood continue to go up.

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Banksy graffiti doubles derelict pub’s value

A former run-down pub in Liverpool has seen its market value soar after it was branded by a graffiti artist, thought to be enigmatic artist Banksy.

The derelict building has been adorned with a giant rat, while the outer walls of the pub have been scrawled in red lipstick.

Banksy has used images of vermin throughout his politically-motivated work, and this particular piece of ‘guerilla’ artwork has attracted the attention of collectors.

The Whitehouse pub was originally estimated by local estate agents to be worth some £495,000, but its value has now doubled to around £1 million, as art dealers scurry to get their hands on it.

Liverpool estate agents Sutton Kersh, who are overseeing the sale, have reportedly been inundated with offers from excited buyers looking for safe investment.

Earlier this year, the artist’s works defied the credit crisis with a sale fetching more than £350,000 at auction.

Despite his popularity, Banksy has zealously guarded his anonymity which has fuelled speculation about his real identity.

Regardless … I don’t really think of these pictures as new (since they came out of a 2000 documentary).  Either way, if anyone can ID him from these pictures alone, that’s impressive.

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Rare Photos Of Banksy In Action

You thought that the search for new pictures of the mysterious world-famous street artist Banksy had come to an end? It has not! Our earlier shot at digging up photos of the maybe-identified but still unseen artist turned out to (probably) not be him. But! A tipster has sent us a lovely present: three still shots of Banksy in action, taken from a UK documentary filmed in 2000, when he was less obsessive about hiding his identity. We also have two photos of Banksy that were featured in an article in the UK’s Squall magazine (now defunct) back in 2000. And for the finale: two art prints that are reportedly drawings of Banksy in profile, dressed as the Queen of England. None are full-on face shots; but this is probably the first time all these rarely-seen images have been collected in one place. Click through to explore.

Stills from the 2000 UK documentary Boom or Bust, by filmmaker Si Mitchell:

From Squall magazine:

Two prints from British artist Mister Aitch, both of which are allegedly profile pictures of Banksy. We’re told that the title, “F5,” is a reference to the button people hit on their keyboard over and over to refresh a page when a new Banksy print goes up for sale:

[Read our previous Banksy coverage here. If you do not feel this investigation is as exciting as I do (it is very exciting), please keep that to yourself.]

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Banksy uncovered: The nice middle-class boy who ‘became the graffiti guerrilla’

By James Tapper
Last updated at 11:48 PM on 12th July 2008

He is one of the art world’s most famous names –  whose graffiti works sell for hundreds of thousands to fans including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  But for years the true identity of the artist Banksy has been a closely guarded secret, known to just a handful of friends.  Now a Mail on Sunday investigation has uncovered compelling evidence suggesting that the artist is former public schoolboy Robin Gunningham.

In the frame: The man in this photograph, taken in Jamaica four years ago, is believed to be Banksy

A Banksy artwork in Bethnal Green – a possible self-portrait?

The notion that Banksy is Gunningham, 34, who was educated at the £9,240-a-year Bristol Cathedral School, will shock the artist’s fans, fond of their hero’s ‘anti-establishment’ stance.

Banksy has become renowned for his use of stencils to spray illegal images on public walls. Some councils and businesses have begun to protect his creations and his works have been sold to celebrities, including Jolie and Pitt.  Rumours have persisted that the artist is called Robin Banks, that he is from Bristol, and that his parents think he is a painter and decorator.  The only concrete clue until now has been a photograph taken in Jamaica four years ago of a man with a bag of spray cans by his feet.

Gunningham’s former school pal Scott Nurse said: ‘He was one of three people in my year who were extremely talented at art. I am not at all surprised if he is Banksy.’  Records reveal Gunningham once lived with artist Luke Egan, who later exhibited with Banksy. Mr Egan initially denied knowing Gunningham but later admitted he had lived with him.

Mystery boy: Robin Gunningham in 1989 when he was a pupil at Bristol Cathedral School

Asked if he was saying Gunningham was not Banksy, Egan said: ‘Well, he wasn’t then.’

Around 2000, when Banksy moved to London, Gunningham relocated to a flat in Hackney. A number of Banksy’s most famous works have appeared nearby. At that time Gunningham lived with Jamie Eastman, who worked for the Hombre record label – which has used illustrations by Banksy

People who know Gunningham are now unable to say what has become of him. His father Peter, who lives in Kingsdown, Bristol, denied that the man in the photograph was his son, and his mother Pamela was surprised by the picture, then denied she even had a son, let alone one called Robin.

Banksy’s publicist would neither confirm nor deny whether the artist was Robin Gunningham

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 Here’s another article on the same subject … slightly less bias.