A Banksy that was removed from a lamp-post in Peckham, south London, only a few hours after it appeared has joined a long list of his work that has vanished over the years.
While arrests have been made in connection with the latest removal, the work is not always taken without his consent or for an apparent attempt to cash in. While many have quickly appeared on the art market, others were savvy promotional tools or served as a windfall for struggling charities.
Here are some others.
Livin The Dream/Caution, Los Angeles (2011)
Several Banksy pieces appeared within a few weeks of one another in Los Angeles during February 2011 as the artist, who was in the running for an Oscar for his Exit Through The Gift Shop documentary, launched a guerrilla campaign across the city of angels in the lead up to the awards.
One work depicted Charlie Brown in the act of arson, while another featured an inebriated Mickey Mouse with his pants down. The works didn’t fare very well: the Mickey Mouse piece was removed and destroyed, while a third piece called Caution – located in the East LA neighbourhood of Boyle Heights – was sawn out of the wall it was stencilled on.
Slave Labour, Wood Green (2013)
An apparent critique of child labour and the diamond jubilee in 2012, this image of a young boy sewing union flag bunting together appeared on the side of a Poundland store in Wood Green, north London. It lasted more than six months before being removed overnight in February 2013 before resurfacing at an auction house in Miami.
Protests from leaders at Haringey council saw the work (which is also known as the “Poundland Banksy”) removed from sale and returned to the UK. It was eventually sold in London, commanding a fee of £750,000.
The Whitehouse Rat, Liverpool (2013)
This giant white rat appeared on The Whitehouse, a derelict pub on the corner of Berry Street and Duke Street in Liverpool back in 2004. It remained there, becoming a local landmark, until 2011 when it was removed before the building it was etched on was demolished.
Since then its led an interesting life: first becoming the main attraction at a “graffiti bar” in Waterloo, then being sold into private hands. Its current whereabouts is unknown but when it was last at auction in the Netherlands – where it brought in more than £400,000 – it was rumoured to have been snapped up by a UK buyer.
Mobile Lovers, Bristol (2014)
Stencilled on a piece of boarding attached to the side of a youth club, this image of two lovers embracing while checking their phones, was initially removed and placed inside – where members of the public could view it while being encouraged to donate to the cash-strapped club.
After the management of the club received death threats, they handed it over to the city council, which displayed it before the artist himself took the rare step of intervening and declaring the club could have it. They promptly sold it and used the proceeds to ensure the institution could carry on.
Morning Has Broken, Herne Bay (2023)
Earlier this year, another Banksy appeared on a decaying building, this time in the Kent town of Herne Bay. It depicted a child opening the curtains – made out of corrugated iron – on the side of the derelict farmhouse. But the work was demolished shortly afterwards, without the owner or the company carrying out the work being aware it was a Banksy, and potentially worth a small fortune.
“We had no idea it was a Banksy. It made me feel sick realising it was a Banksy – we were gutted,” one of the contractors told website KentOnline.
