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For more than two decades, art collectors and graffiti enthusiasts alike have speculated as to the true identity (or identities) behind Banksy, the artist whose socially and politically aware murals have regularly been valued in the hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Since a 2008 Mail on Sunday investigation, most people believe him to be ex-Bristol Cathedral School pupil Robin Gunningham, but journalist Craig Williams claims that Banksy is actually a collective of artists led by Bristol-based musician Robert Del Naja, the founder of British electronic music group Massive Attack.

Writing for the website Glasgow Live, Williams claims that five months of research have led him to the conclusion that Del Naja, known by his stage name ‘3D’, is the real identity of the iconic street artist.

Continue reading: Is Banksy Really Massive Attack's Founder Robert Del Naja?

The Loss Of Lou Reed: Legendary Velvet Underground rocker Lou Reed died on Sunday 27th October after succumbing to liver disease, having battled with poor health for months. The world reacted with sorrow to the loss of the 'Perfect Day' singer who saw sales of his solo albums and Velvet Underground records rocket in the wake of his death, aged 71.

Halloween Hijinks: The latest trend in the world of celebrities is to one-up each other in wearing the wittiest or most outrageous Halloween outfit this year. The last few days have been awash with viral images, gifs and videos of the rich and famous pulling out all the stops to make an impact. So far, we've seen Matt Lauer as Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson, Miley Cyrus as Lil Kim, Ellen DeGeneres as Nicki Minaj, Paris Hilton as Miley Cyrus, Sandra Bullock's bearded fisherman, Heidi Klum's elderly lady and Fergie and Josh Duhamel's double hit of Elvira and Riffraff.

Continue reading: A Week In News: Lou Reed Dies, Celebs Go All Out For Halloween & Marvin Gaye's Kids On The Warpath

Banksy finished his month-long artist 'residency' in New York with the sale of his painted work "The banality of the banality of evil" for a cool $600,000 - all for charity. The painting was auctioned on Thursday (October 31, 2013) from on behalf of the Housing Works charity, which helps to fund AIDS and homelessness projects in the city.

Banksy bought the painting from a Housing Works charity shop in New York before reworking it with a Nazi figure, giving it a title and anonymously donating it back to the shop. Staff at the shop received a call from one of the artist's team soon after, explaining that the panting was an original Banksy, according to The Independent. 

After 138 online bids, the painting sold for $615,000, though the winning bid is still being verified.

Continue reading: Banksy Ends New York 'Residency' With Sale Of $600,000 Nazi Painting

The Banksy piece, which was surprisingly revealed on the side of a New York building recently, is now being protected by a team of guards. The woman, whose wall the artwork ended up on, is protecting it much like a museum piece, with 24/7 armed guards, plexiglass and a rolling metal gate.

Banksy's work has inspired countless tributes.

The landlord hasn’t yet decided what to do with the piece, but her initial instinct was just to protect the mural for the public.

Continue reading: Landlord Hires Guards To Protect Banksy Piece, While The Street Artist Continues To Taunt New York Authorities

He took a risk. Or he has no idea who Banksy is. Or he thought $60 for a Banksy wasn’t that bad. Or he thought they were real. Or he knew about the whole thing all along. Either way, a man from Chicago bought four Banksy canvases – signed by the artist himself – for the bargain total of $240.

Banksy's Amy Winehouse

Citing a need for something, anything, on the walls of his new New York pad, ‘the man from Chicago’ is now in possession of art worth a hell-of-a-lot more than $240. In fact, he could have about $60k worth of culture on his hands. Or on his walls.

Continue reading: Hey, Chicago Man With Loads Of Bargain Banksys, What's Up?

When you’re walking through a market or city center and you see a stall selling Banksy canvases, two things will enter your brain: that’s Bansky’s stuff, and it’s fake. The sheer amount of fake knock-offs have plagued the enigmatic artist’s work, and he was out to prove this – we reckon – with another stunt.

One of Banksy's pieces in a tunnel near Waterloo Station, London

He armed an old guy with thousands of dollars worth of his work and set him up in Central Park on a stool, selling a number of his works – worth up to £20,000 – for around $60 each. That’s something near £38. A few lucky people grabbed the bargain of a lifetime.

Continue reading: NYC Cynics Miss Deal Of A Lifetime As Banksy Flogs Work On The Cheap

Banksy art for sale at just $60 - this is a joke right? Nope, not at all. The enigmatic Bristolian artist continued his New York City art show by putting valuable stencilled works - said to be worth tens of thousands of dollars each - up for sale for next to nothing in Central Park this week.

We've all seen the cheap Banksy knock-offs for sale at markets, art fares and car-boot sales and the artist's stall in New York - manned by a funny looking old guy - looked the very same.

A label simply advertised "spray art" while the canvasses featured some of Banksy's most recognisable and most replicated work including the monkey, the rat with a drill and the protestor throwing flowers. Only eight pieces were bought by three customers, generating a total haul of $420, according to The Verge.

Continue reading: Banksy Art For Sale At $60 On New York Stall. Did You Get One?

A Banksy installation in New York's East Village went badly wrong on Saturday night (October 5, 2013), with one fan claiming it led to the identity of the enigmatic artist being revealed. 

Banksy had planned an elaborate art piece inside a white delivery truck, though when the vehicle suffered a technical failure, hordes gathered in New York to see what all the fuss was about. The glowing scene featured a waterfall, moving butterflies, a shining sun and foliage, though it lost power after about half an hour.

A curious witness, Thomas McKean, 26, stood back from the chaos in a bid to discover the identity of Banksy, whom he thought would appear to try and fix the problem. He spotted two men hanging around the truck wearing overalls, "I'm pretty sure one of them was Banksy," he told the New York Daily News.

Continue reading: Was Banksy Unmasked During New York Art Blunder?

No more than a day after a new daubing by British graffiti artist Banksy had been sprayed on to a wall in New York City, someone has covered the piece up with paint. After announcing his month-long residency in the city, the artist's first work depicted two boys holding a spray can and reaching up to a notice that read "Graffiti Is A Crime."

New work by British street artist #Banksy appears in NYC - painted over after one day http://t.co/lHAD2ThFOG pic.twitter.com/cNF0zTTzcJ

— BBC News US (@BBCNewsUS) October 2, 2013

Continue reading: New Banksy Piece Painted Over After Just One Day On New York Wall

Leonardo Dicaprio, the actor currently doing the promotional rounds for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, is teaming up with Christie's for a charity auction next week to benefit environmental causes. Thirty-three pieces of art will go under the hammer on Monday (May 13, 2013) in New York and could raise $18 million.

"A lot of the works of this quality have never been at auction. We have what we believe are conservative estimates," Loic Gouzer, international specialist at Christie's and the head of the sale, said in an interview, "It is going to be the biggest one-time environmental fundraiser ever," he added. Amongst the pieces up for sale are Zeng Fanzhi's oil canvas The Tiger and Bharti Kher's The Skin Speaks a Language Not It's Own, on fibreglass. Another is Mark Grotjahn's Untitled (Standard Lotus No. II, Bird of Paradise, Tiger Mouth Face 44.01) an oil on cardboard mounted on canvas. Each other three works has a pre-sale estimate of $1.5 million to $2.5 million. Other artists include the Bristol artist Banksy, Peter Beard, Richard Prince and Elizabeth Peyton. "We explained that we wanted great works and they were very reactive because of the cause. The artists are very sensitive to the fact that we are destroying our planet," Gouzer said.

Leonardo DiCaprio's new movie The Great Gatsby hits theaters today. It has received mixed reviews from critics.

Continue reading: Leonardo DiCaprio And Christie's To Raise $18 Million At Charity Art Auction

Banksy has become one of the world's foremost street artists. With a distinctive style and often political subject matter his works have been recreated over and over on posters, cards and prints. The real deal, in contrast, is something that you can only get once, and selling a piece seems almost impossible given that they're painted on public structures, from walls to bridges. However, one original Banksy work titled 'Slave Labour' managed to be removed from the wall of a Poundland in Haringey, London and shipped to Miami where it was set to be sold. Since protests were made by local constituents of Haringey, at the 11th hour the sale has been stopped. 

As the Guardian reports, the painting of a boy making bunting (a critique on last year's Diamond Jubilee) was set to make around $700,000 (£460,000). Frederic Thut, the owner of the Fine Arts Auction Miami art house, admitted yesterday that two Banksy works, including Slave Labour had been removed from the auctions listings, but gave no reason for this.

"One of our two demands was that it doesn't sell and the other was that we get it back again, so we're halfway there," said Alan Strickland, a Haringey councillor who has been working to stop the sale taking place. "I will be writing to the auction house as a matter of urgency to clarify what happened and what will happen next, but for now we are really pleased that because of the pressure and the strong views of the people of Wood Green, a community campaign in London has had an impact in the US. It's a real victory for the people."

Continue reading: Sale Of 'Stolen' Banksy Stopped At Last Second In USA

A Banksy mural given to a community for free is going up for auction and is set to fetch up to £450,000, after it was taken from its location on the side of a Poundland in Wood Green, London last year.

The US-based Fine Art Auctions has listed what appears to be the mural, which shows a young boy hunched over a sewing machine making Union Jack bunting . The drawing was believed to be a shot at the use of cheap sweat shops to make bunting for the Jubilee decorations last year, and has turned up mysteriously for auction. Speaking to The Sun, Fine Art’s Frederic Thut wouldn’t reveal the identity of the collector, though he said it was “well-known”. He added “The collector signed a contract saying everything was above board. If he has lied to us it is important to know. But I don’t think he lies to us.”

Wood Green councillor Alan Strickland said, meanwhile: “Banksy gave our community that painting for free. Someone has taken it and plans to make a huge amount for themselves, which is disgusting and counter to the spirit in which it was given. No doubt Banksy will be horrified.” Banksy may well be horrified, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop whoever took the piece making a hefty profit. It’s listed for £250,000 on the site, though it’s likely to go for almost double.

Continue reading: Stolen Banksy Mural Set To Go For £450,000 At Auction