Banksy without anonymity: what changes for the art market?

For over thirty years, the name Banksy has been synonymous with anonymity.

The most famous artist of global street art has built a myth based on mystery, appearing and disappearing in cities around the world, leaving behind ironic, political, and immediately recognizable works. However, now something might change: a journalistic investigation by Reuters claims to have identified the man behind the pseudonym.

According to the reconstruction, Banksy would be Robin Gunningham, an artist born in Bristol in 1973, who over the years would have also legally changed his name to David Jones.

The possible revelation of the identity reopens a debate that concerns not only pop culture but also the art market. What happens to the value of the works when the myth of anonymity is lost?

The value of anonymity in the Banksy case

Anonimity has always been an integral part of Banksy’s artistic project. It is not just a strategy to avoid legal issues – street art often originates as an illegal act – but a true conceptual device.

The absence of the author has allowed the works of:

• – Speak directly to the public without the mediation of the artist’s biography
• – Transform into media events every time they appeared in a city
• – Build a global myth around the invisible figure of the author.
• These elements have contributed to making Banksy one of the strongest phenomena in the contemporary art market. Since 2015, his works have generated approximately 250 million dollars in sales in the secondary market, demonstrating how his figure has now become a true global brand.
• The possible effects on the value of the works
• Scenario 1: the value could decrease
• For some analysts, the revelation of the identity could weaken the symbolic value of the works. The main reasons: the loss of the myth.
• Much of the charm of Banksy comes from being an invisible artist. Knowing who he is could reduce the narrative power of his figure.
• The risk of normalization
• Banksy would become an artist with a biography, a personal story, and a public face, like many others.
• Banksy’s street art has always been perceived as an almost clandestine event. If the artist becomes identifiable, the rebellious aura might diminish. In short: if anonymity is part of the work, losing it could reduce its cultural impact.
• Scenario 2: the value could rise
• However, there is also the opposite hypothesis, perhaps even more likely in the art market. Knowing who the artist is allows art historians to better place them in the history of contemporary art.
• Collectors and institutions might feel more secure in purchasing works whose provenance is better known.
• The revelation of the identity can generate a new wave of global attention, increasing demand. An interesting precedent is the famous 2018 episode when a Banksy artwork self-destructed during an auction, paradoxically increasing its value on the market.
• In the case of Banksy, every media event tends to transform into economic value.
• A paradox of the contemporary art market
• The real paradox is that Banksy has always criticized the art market and cultural capitalism, but at the same time, his works have become multimillion-dollar collectibles. The potential revelation of his identity would not necessarily change this mechanism. On the contrary, it could strengthen it. After all, the art market feeds on stories. And few stories are as powerful as that of the most mysterious artist of our time.
• If Banksy’s identity were truly confirmed, his myth would not disappear: it would simply change form. For the art market, the most likely outcome is not a collapse in prices, but a new phase of the Banksy narrative — and as often happens, the more powerful the story, the more the value tends to grow.

Amelia Tomasicchio

As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.

She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.