A mysterious statue has appeared next to the Crimean War Memorial at Waterloo Place in central London, bearing Banksy's signature scrawled at the bottom. While the elusive artist has not confirmed the piece on his Instagram channel, speculation is rife. The statue depicts a man marching off the end of a plinth, holding a flagpole with the flag's fabric covering his face. As the art world awaits official confirmation, now is the perfect time to explore Banksy's other famous London works. Metro has compiled a comprehensive guide to where you can spot them across the capital.
Centre Point at Tottenham Court Road
In late December 2025, two identical Banksy artworks appeared in London, featuring two children lying down in winter clothing and pointing up at the sky. One mural appeared on the side of an abandoned building in Queen's Mews, Bayswater, while the other was beside the Centre Point building on the intersection of Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street. The Centre Point mural remains visible today, but the Bayswater graffiti was boarded up by workmen within a few short hours.
Royal Courts of Justice
In September 2025, a new Banksy artwork appeared outside the High Court in London, depicting a judge wielding a gavel and attacking an unarmed person on the floor who held a sign covered in blood. The artist confirmed the artwork on Instagram with the caption 'Royal Courts of Justice, London', but the mural was quickly boarded up. Within a day, it was scrubbed off the walls, and police launched an investigation into criminal damage.
Animal Art Trail (August 2024)
Between August 5 and 13, 2024, nine animal-themed Banksy artworks appeared throughout London. Some were removed, most lawfully, but one—a howling wolf on a satellite dish—was stolen. A few remain, including a graffiti artwork of two pelicans eating fish on the side of Bonner's Fish Bar in Northcote Road, Walthamstow. The piece has been covered with clear Perspex to protect it. Two elephant silhouettes with trunks stretched toward each other in Edith Grove, Chelsea, were also part of the series. One elephant was defaced with white stripes, but the local council removed the stripes and covered the work with a special protective paint. Other animal-themed pieces included three swinging monkeys below a London Overground line in Brick Lane, east London (removed in February 2025), a goat precariously balancing on a pillar in Kew Green, west London (removed), a tiger stretching on a dilapidated billboard in Cricklewood, northwest London (removed), a London police box with windows decorated with a school of piranhas at Ludgate Hill (removed), a gorilla pulling up a shutter at London Zoo (removed for 'safekeeping'), and a rhinoceros mounting a parked car on Westmoor Street in Charlton, south London, which was defaced by a person wearing a balaclava just days after it appeared.
Stoke Newington
Banksy's 'Royal family on a balcony' was painted on the side of a building in Stoke Newington in the early 2000s. The image was one of a series used for Blur's 'Think Tank' album in 2003. Hackney Council started painting the wall black in 2009 and was about to cover it until locals pointed out it was a Banksy. They stopped, but the black paint remains around the artwork.
Finsbury Park
The Finsbury Park tree mural in Hornsey Road caught attention when it was put up shortly after St Patrick's Day in 2024. The artwork has been covered in clear plastic to protect it.
Mayfair
A Banksy mural of a woman falling from a building holding onto a shopping trolley appeared in 2011 on Bruton Street, Mayfair. The work is known as both 'Falling Shopper' and 'Shop Till You Drop'.
Shoreditch
There are two Banksy pieces on the side of the defunct nightclub Cargo, now a multi-bar and restaurant called Viaduct in Shoreditch. One, named 'The Guard Dog', depicts a security guard with a poodle on a lead. The other, 'His Master's Voice', shows a white dog pointing a bazooka at a gramophone. They can be found in the outdoor seating area of The Arch, one of the Viaduct's restaurants.
Poplar
Banksy's piece 'My Taps Been Phoned' appeared in Poplar in August 2011, seemingly a reference to the phone hacking scandal that had recently broken in the UK.
Banksy Art in the Rest of the UK
Banksy's hometown of Bristol is packed with murals. One of his most famous works, the Grim Reaper, was originally painted on the side of Thekla, a nightclub inside a boat docked in Bristol harbour. In 2014, it was removed for protection and is now on display in Bristol's M Shed museum. Other notable works include 'Well Hung Lover' on the side of a sexual health clinic on Frogmore Street, and 'The Girl with the Pierced Eardrum', a parody of Johannes Vermeer's painting, on Hanover Place.
Confirmed UK Banksy artworks include: The Great British Spraycation in North Beach, Lowestoft; Luxury Rentals Only in Cromer, Norfolk; Swooping Seagull in Lowestoft; Model Village in Great Yarmouth; Amusement Arcane Crane in Gorleston, Norfolk; Couple Dancing in Great Yarmouth; We're All In The Same Boat in Lowestoft; Valentine's Day in Marsh Lane, Bristol; Escaping Prisoner at Reading Prison; Sneezing Woman in Bristol; Hula Hoop Girl in Nottingham; Reindeers in Birmingham; Devolved Parliament at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery; Season's Greetings in Port Talbot; The Mild Mild West in Bristol; Well Hung Lover in Bristol; This Is Not A Photo Opportunity in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset; Lenin Punk in Weston-super-Mare; Tesco Sandcastle in Hastings; Winnie The Pooh Bear Trap in Bristol; Ice Cream Bomb in Brighton; Art Buff in Folkestone; Burning Tyre in Bristol; Draw The Raised Bridge in Hull; and Girl With The Pierced Eardrum in Bristol. His art has also appeared in Hull, Nottingham, and Cheltenham.
International Works
Outside the UK, Banksy visited Ukraine in 2022 and left several artworks to show support, including 'Tank Trap See Saw' and 'Irpin Gymnast'. He also confirmed a lighthouse mural on Instagram, showing a shining lighthouse with the words 'I want to be what you saw in me'. While he refused to share details of its location, it is thought to be under a building along Rue Félix Fregier in Marseille, France.
Why Has So Much of Banksy's Art Been Destroyed?
The rocketing price of Banksy's work means many pieces vanish without warning as building owners try to profit. In 2021, an entire section of a shop wall in Lowestoft displaying an original Banksy was removed and taken to a secret location. In December 2023, a Banksy artwork in Peckham of three drones on a traffic stop sign was stolen less than an hour after it was put up. A man with bolt cutters tore the piece down, and another man on a Lime rental bike rode away with it. One gallery owner told the BBC the sign could be worth up to £500,000. In other instances, Banksy's work has been accidentally destroyed. In 2023, builders unknowingly demolished a Banksy mural on the side of a derelict farmhouse in Kent. 'It made me feel sick realising it was a Banksy – we were gutted,' one contractor said.
Why Did Banksy Destroy His Own Art?
In 2018, a Banksy painting called 'Girl With Balloon' was sold for more than £1 million at Sotheby's and was shredded moments later. The auctioneers were unaware that Banksy had installed a shredding mechanism in the frame. Sotheby's senior director Alex Branczik said, 'It appears we just got Banksy-ed.' The original buyer still purchased the artwork at the full price, but the painting was renamed 'Love is in the Bin'. In 2021, it was sold again, setting a record as the most expensive painting sold at auction at £18.6 million.
How Much Is Banksy's Art Worth?
Banksy does not sell his own artwork, but pieces owned by others have fetched tens of millions at auction. He gave 'Game Changer' to Southampton Hospital in 2020 as a thank you to NHS workers; it later sold for £16.8 million, with proceeds going to NHS causes. 'Sunflowers From Petrol Station', a 2005 parody of Van Gogh, fetched £10.7 million in 2021 when sold by fashion designer Sir Paul Smith. The artist reportedly made £22.7 million selling his prints in the year to April 2025.
Who Is Banksy?
The mystery surrounding Banksy's identity has fueled speculation. While nothing is verified, rumours persist. Banksy began as part of Bristol's DryBreadZ Crew and was influenced by the Bristol Underground Scene, including 3D (Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack). Rumours that Banksy is Del Naja have persisted, but Banksy denied it in an interview, saying 'No, because I'm not.' Others suggest Banksy is Robin Gunningham, a former Bristol schoolmate, as supported by a 2008 Mail on Sunday investigation and a study correlating artwork locations with Gunningham's movements. Speculation that Banksy is a collective is also common. An internet hoax in 2014 claimed Banksy had been arrested.
