Featured Image Credit: Jim Dyson/Getty Images
Topics: News, Banksy, UK News, Art, Sex and Relationships
Kit Roberts
Topics: News, Banksy, UK News, Art, Sex and Relationships
Street artist Banksy reportedly got married in a ceremony costing just $100.
For years, the identity of the artist responsible for politically charged graffiti across the UK and around the world has remained a mystery.
That was until an investigation appeared to finally put a name to the mysterious artist - Robin Gunningham.
Banksy went from a relatively niche artist up to one of the most instantly recognizble names and styles in contemporary art, with some of his work fetching millions of dollars at auctions.
Advert
On one occasion, his famous 'Girl With Balloon' stencil sold for £1 million, about $1.3 million, only for the picture to be ceremoniously destroyed by a shredder the artist had concealed in the frame.
The same piece would later sell for £18,582,000, just under $24,600,000, at a subsequent auction.
But while his art might sell for millions, a new report suggests that the same was not true of Banksy's wedding, which reportedly cost just $100.
A new report by the Daily Mail claims to have found evidence that the internationally-recognized artist secretly married his partner Joy Millward.
The ceremony took place at the Chapel of the Bells on the Las Vegas Strip which is known for providing speedy wedding services, including to celebrity figures like Leslie Nielsen, Mickey Rooney, and Beverly D'Angelo.
Documents show that the artist used the name Robin Gunningham in the ceremony.
Evidence of the wedding came to light after a revelatory report about Banksy's identity by Reuters.
Investigators indicated that the man behind the art was in fact Gunningham, who was a former private school pupil from Bristol in the UK.
Interestingly, Spanish private investigator Francisco Marco has also said that evidence from the $100 Las Vegas wedding was an important piece of the puzzle.
“When you investigate someone, one of the most revealing documents is their marriage certificate - these are public records," he said.
“I found that Robin Gunningham got married in Las Vegas in 2006. Las Vegas is a classic destination for discreet, quick weddings, ideal for someone who wants to leave as little trace as possible.
“The interesting thing is that at that time, Banksy was already hugely famous - he had just held his 'Barely Legal' exhibition in Los Angeles - but the marriage certificate appeared under his real name, Gunningham, not under any alias. That gave me a key piece of the puzzle.”
It is not believed that Banksy is living in Somerset under the name David Jones, where he is keeping a low profile.