25 Things You Didn't Know About Banksy

You may think you know about the elusive, globetrotting artist, but you don't.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Banksy is arguably the world's most important street artist and one of the most praised artists of our generation. Some have literally gone to such extremes as removing his work off walls. The Bristol-born vandal grabs headlines across the world but still maintains his anonymity. On the rare occasion he does reach out to the public, it's to lend a helping hand to those whom his actions may have adversely affectedDrake may or may not know who Banksy is, but we've compiled 25 facts to help you get to know him a little better.

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25 Things You Didn't Know About Banksy

He was allegedly identified as a man named Robin Gunningham.

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He played soccer with revolutionaries in Mexico.

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His print company Pictures On Walls' main financial shareholder is Gorillaz co-creator, Jamie Hewlett.

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His collaboration with Damien Hirst sold for over $1.8 million at auction.

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Major celebrities collect his work.

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People have attempted to auction off actual walls he's painted.

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He used to tell his mom that he was a house painter.

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He donates to charities that research eye diseases and help to restore the eyesight of blind people.

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His manager used to work for Sean Penn.

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He asked to be paid only £1 to install his "Banksy vs. Bristol City Museum" show at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery.

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His "Turf Wars" show was met with massive protesting, even though he's proved himself an animal rights activist.

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He has a history with The Simpsons.

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While still an unknown artist, he asked to paint a couple's trailer in exchange for giving them tickets to the Glastonbury Music Festival.

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Adult Swim posted a fake video interview with him.

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"Barely Legal" was not his first exhibition in Los Angeles.

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He started the Cans Festival, a free-for-all painting zone whose name is a play on the Cannes Film Festival.

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The premiere of Exit Through the Gift Shop was in the Cans Festival tunnel.

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Exit Through the Gift Shop grossed $5,308,618 at the box office.

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He created "Pest Control," group of experts who can distinguish Banksy fakes from originals.

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He made a tribute mural for graffiti writer, Ozone, after he criticized one of Bansky's work and was tragically killed by a train afterwards.

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He was a graffiti writer long before he was even interested in street art.

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One of his pieces sold as a "mural with a house attached to it."

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One of his well-known, earlier works was removed by owners who didn't know it was a Bansky.

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He published Wall and Piece, a compilation of three of his previous publications.

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He tried to redeem himself after his painting accidentally had a homeless man evicted from his squat.

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