Banksy The Man Behind the Wall

Staying so far from the spotlight, hiding his name and face to such an extent, and giving interviews only via e-mail, Banksy is surprisingly famous. From an ordinary graffiti artist from Bristol, Banksy has become someone whose works fetch six-figure sums at auctions and adorn the walls of celebrities. The emergence of a new Banksy makes national news, people wait in queues for hours for his latest exhibition, and his film Exit Through the Gift Shop was nominated for an Oscar. How did Banksy transform from an extraordinary street urchin into a national treasure? In this first – unofficial and unauthorized – book about his life and world, Will Ellsworth-Jones pieces together the clues to decode a figure accused of being a vandal and applauded for being extraordinary. "A brilliantly written and remarkable portrait of a ruthless capitalist, a uniquely control-obsessed artist protecting his own myth." Independent on Sunday "The fascinating story of a seductive art phenomenon." Sunday Times "A relentless pursuit of the money and identity of a character suffering between art and commerce." Guardian