Skip to content
224,677 profiles ranked

Banksy

English graffiti artist, political activist, and painter · United Kingdom · On the map · Artists · Born 1973 · age 53

The world's most famous artist has no confirmed face. Banksy's stencilled street pieces - sly, brutal, often gone by morning - turn up on walls from London to Bethlehem, and the question of who made them matters less than the fact that millions stop to look.

Banksy is read about 3,943 times a day, in 64 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 4 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.

Something wrong?
Compare Claim

A life in dates

2007“Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place, some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place.”In their wordsWall and Piece (2007)

“We can't do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves.”In their wordsWall and Piece (2007)

“Sometimes I feel so sick at the state of the world I can’t even finish my second apple pie.”In their wordsWall and Piece (2007)

“People who should be shot: Fascist thugs, religious fundamentalists, people who write lists telling you who should be shot.”In their wordsWall and Piece (2007)

“If you want someone to be ignored, then build a life-size bronze statue of them and stick it in the middle of town...”In their wordsWall and Piece (2007)

“The Art we look at is made by only a select few. A small group create, promote, purchase, exhibit and decide the success of Art.”In their wordsWall and Piece (2007)

1973Born

People around Banksy

Close ties

Also in Deutsch

Media & music

In their own words 4

,
Banksy
,
4 statements, newest first
  1. I need someone to protect me from all the measures they take in order to protect me.

    2007 · Wall and Piece (2007), Own words

  2. I used to tell everyone I meant to be an artist..... I don't do that any more.

    2007 · Wall and Piece (2007), Own words

  3. We don’t need any more heroes; we just need someone to take out the recycling.

    2007 · Wall and Piece (2007), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Film Independent Spirit Awards

About this person

He emerged from Bristol's underground scene in the 1990s, where artists and musicians blurred the line between collaboration and vandalism. His stencil technique let him work fast, and his dark humour made the work stick. The art appeared on public surfaces - walls, bridges, surfaces no one asked permission to use - and though he stopped selling reproductions, the installations themselves became so valuable that buyers began removing entire walls. In 2010 he directed Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary that premiered at Sundance and earned an Academy Award nomination the following January. He created an agency called Pest Control to handle the rare official sales. The identity remains unconfirmed, and the work keeps appearing.

Country
United Kingdom
Category
Artists
Type
Artist
Status
Living
Dates
Born 1973 · age 53

Where to find them