Banksy has been unmasked. But just how valuable is anonymity in the art world?

People look at a new Banksy painting on a wall in London, Monday, March 18, 2024.

The biggest mystery in the art world has apparently been solved: Banksy has been unmasked as a bespectacled middle-aged man from Bristol, England called Robin Gunningham.

His name was revealed in a sprawling investigation by Reuters, though many say it has been an open secret for years, having been reported by the British tabloid the Mail on Sunday as far back as 2008.

True to form, the artist formerly known as Banksy has neither confirmed nor denied his identity and continues to maintain a low profile. His representatives did not respond to a request for comment from CNN.

How the revelation, which made headlines globally, will impact his output and its value remains uncertain.

Banksy is not alone in preferring to remain anonymous. Among the artists who conceal their identities is Jerkface, a New York street artist known for his unique interpretations of much-loved animated characters.

In an email to CNN –– which did not reveal his identity –– Jerkface said anonymity had long been valued in the arts.

“Looking at all the creative fields, visual art is one of the few that expression can be made without the necessity of revealing one’s identity,” he said. “Actors and musicians change their real name, but often can’t easily hide their face. Writers have been hiding their identity for centuries.”

“I think people enjoy the honesty of a blatantly fabricated persona,” said Jerkface. ``The people who appreciate these artists, they don’t want to know who’s behind the mask. It ruins the mystery.”

He added: “There’s a real disappointment in Banksy’s identity being revealed. It’s like telling someone wrestling isn’t real. They already know. They’re not looking for detailed proof.”

Nico Epstein is a Lisbon-based art consultant who also runs an online art platform called Collector Connoisseur and teaches classes at Christie’s auction house on collecting and evaluating art. He told CNN there had long been “whispers” in the industry about Gunningham, but he is “disappointed” to have them confirmed.

“I wanted the memory of the anonymous artist –– and the mystery behind that –– to live on. Banksy is a superhero for many many people. People want to believe that fairy tale and now it’s come to a close.”

He said he had liked the “neutrality” of not knowing whether Banksy was male or female or their background. “Now it’s been connected to an old White guy from Bristol definitively I’m just not as into it anymore.”

The cost of exposure

Banksy went to great lengths to preserve his anonymity, but it is likely to have started out of necessity. “Being an anonymous mysterious artist was part of the persona but it was also a practicality that allowed him to avoid being detected by law enforcement,” said Epstein.

Gunningham’s unveiling is likely to affect Banksy’s work, said Epstein, who believes the value of his art was already falling.

Banksy’s works go for huge amounts of money. In 2021, “Love is in the Bin,” the painting that partially self-destructed at auction three years earlier, sold for a staggering £18.5 million (US$25.4 million).

“The bigger question is whether or not he’ll still be able to make interesting work now he’s been uncovered,” said Epstein, who cited Banksy’s “iconic” creations in Ukraine and the West Bank. “I think it would be more difficult for him to do that and I think there will be a bit of a decline in production and financial value.”

That said, transitioning from anonymity to being a named artist did not hurt the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat, who started out as a graffiti artist SAMO, or Brian Donnelly, known professionally as KAWS. But such examples, according to Epstein, are rare.

“Think of all the street artists who’ve not had any recognition. Maybe they want to be able to tag trains and billboards and do their thing and not be recognized in that way. There’s lots of artists who keep that anonymity but they’re not going to be recognized in the same way by art history.”

Motives for anonymity vary, as the artist behind Hey Reilly, a popular Instagram account poking fun at celebrities with AI-altered images, explained.

“For a street artist, anonymity is often a shield against prosecution; for me, it’s a tool for creative freedom,” the artist identified only as Reilly said.

They told CNN on email that their anonymity is a by-product of “shyness” and a lifelong avoidance of being photographed. While people often find it “baffling,” Reilly said anonymity makes them feel “freer.”

“In a culture obsessed with ‘looksmaxxing’ and the constant performance of the selfie, there is a massive sense of relief in simply saying, ‘No.’ Refusing to engage with that level of self-exposure isn’t just a personal choice; it’s an anti-modern stance. It’s a way of reclaiming your freedom from a system that demands you turn your face into a brand before you’re allowed to be an artist,” they said.

“Essentially, anonymity allowed me to dodge the ‘look at me’ construct of social media that I just couldn’t be bothered with. But by stripping away personal identity, the work gains a more universal resonance,” said Reilly.

“When I do meet followers in real life, we get this wonderful ‘Wizard of Oz’ moment of genuine connection, just without the selfie.”

Although commonly associated with the visual arts, anonymity is commonplace in other disciplines, including music, with formerly anonymous stars including Australian singer Sia and French electronic duo Daft Pank.

In literature, the Brontë sisters all tried to counter prejudice against women by publishing as men, while the pseudonym George Eliot has long outshone the Victorian writer’s real name: Mary Ann Evans.

Far more recently, Elena Ferrante, the pseudonym of the Italian author of the highly acclaimed Neapolitan series of novels, starting with “My Brilliant Friend,” has sold millions of books worldwide. As with Banksy, fevered speculation has driven many to try to identify her –– but nothing has been proven to date.

One successful high-profile unmasking was that of Robert Galbraith, author of the Cormoran Strike detective series. When Galbraith’s first book, “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” came out in 2013, its publisher described the writer as a former member of the Special Investigative Branch of the Royal Military Police. This, they suggested, explained the need for a pseudonym.

But Galbraith was soon rumbled when The Sunday Times revealed he was none other than J. K. Rowling. When the news broke, Rowling said the privacy had been “liberating,” allowing her to publish “without hype or expectation.”

Friendred Peng, a senior lecturer at the University of the Arts London, told CNN there is “something deeply compelling about anonymity.”

“In a culture where identity often frames interpretation, removing it allows the work to be experienced without bias tied to background, gender, or reputation, shifting attention from the author to the idea itself,” he said.

“We are instinctively drawn to myth, and anonymous figures generate intrigue and cultural narratives that can amplify both visibility and meaning.

“But when anonymity is broken, that dynamic shifts. The work can become reanchored to personal context, which may reduce its universality by reintroducing biography and, at times, prejudice. For this reason, anonymity should be understood not as an absence, but as an active and meaningful artistic choice.”