He's been an enigmatic figure for years - and his guerilla art attacks have fetched hundreds of thousands of pounds, but it seems the identity of the famous London art ninja Banksy has finally been revealed.
The Mail On Sunday has produced a photograph taken four years ago in Jamaica, and revealed the subject as Bristol’s Robin Gunningham.
Scott Nurse, who was a schoolmate of Gunningham at Bristol Cathedral School confirmed the identity of the man in the photograph, and said he was “extremely talented at art”.
“I’m not at all surprised if he is Banksy” he said.
When Banksy’s agent Steve Lazarides was questioned by the New Yorker about the photograph, he denied it was the his client – but anti-graffiti officer Colin Saysell, who had been following Banksy for years, said the photo was legitimate.
In the past few years Banksy’s anonymity and mystery has garnered a massive amount of interest in his art attacks and graffiti projects.
His artwork turns up unannounced in random locations around the world, and is often political or subversive in nature.
In January this year a graffiti piece appeared on a wall in Portobello Road in West London, showing a painter finishing off the word “Banksy”. The piece was sold and attracted £208,100 in an online auction.
Banksy’s art work is also not limited to graffiti; his cheeky media pranks are as famous as his paintings.
When celebutante Paris Hilton released her debut album, Paris, Banksy sabotaged music stores and replaced the original cover of the album with a photo of Paris with a dogs head.
The new track titles were “Why am I famous?”, “What have I done?”, and “Why am I for?”
And while there is speculation about his identity, the artist himself says that the public should never discover who he is.
"I have no interest in ever coming out," he once told Swindle magazine.
"I'm just trying to make the pictures look good; I'm not into trying to make myself look good."