I’m Banksy’s best mate… I know why he’s never revealed his identity and why he never will

Banksy’s former agent and photographer has revealed that the elusive artist ‘never really enjoyed the fame he received’ due to his need for anonymity – but it’s also a secret that won’t end anytime soon.

Steve Lazarides worked with the discreet street artist from 1997 to 2008 after the fellow Bristolians met in the late 1990s and discovered they shared a mutual love of graffiti and innovative street art.

The 55-year-old, who years earlier described it as ‘glorious’ and a ‘ride’, is now auctioning off memorabilia from his time with Banksy, from coveted prints and artworks to drawings and even private correspondence with the artist.

More than 170 lots will go under the hammer at Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles on Thursday, with the top price currently reserved for a stencil of a rat holding a drill, expected to fetch up to £150,000.

Experts predict his print of the now famous Girl with a Balloon could also fetch £60,000 when it goes under the hammer.

A pair of Banksy’s Puma sneakers are among more than 170 lots up for auction in Los Angeles

Banksy’s £10 note with Princess Diana’s face on it could fetch up to £1,500 under the hammer

Since Banksy made his name with his signature stencil-style ‘guerrilla’ art in public spaces – on walls in London, Brighton, Bristol and even on the West Bank barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians – his works have sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds.

He is the world’s most elusive artist – a ‘graffiti guerrilla’ who started doing street art 25 years ago and is now a darling of the art world; his work is coveted by collectors and celebrities.

Lazarides believes he understands more than most that Banksy must remain anonymous, a status that initially began as “self-preservation” to ensure he wasn’t picked up by the police and sent to jail for what would essentially be considered vandalism can be seen.

In an interview with The mirrorhe said, “As the years went by and it lasted longer, I think anonymity became quite a disease.

“Everyone has this figure in their mind, they have a folk hero, and in everyone’s mind it looks different.

‘He never really enjoyed the fame he received.’

The pair were so keen to keep Banksy’s secret that they even bought dozens of burner phones, with the artist communicating only via cheap pay-as-you-go phones for every street art job he took on.

At one point, Lazarides claims he was buying two new burner phones every few weeks and changing where he bought them from.

Banksy’s identity was shrouded in secrecy until The Mail on Sunday launched an investigation in 2008 and named Robin Gunningham as the Bristol artist.

When the newspaper published its groundbreaking investigation, Mr Lazarides told an American newspaper that a photograph of Mr Gunningham – taken four years earlier in Jamaica, showing a man kneeling near a spray can – did not show his client.

Steve Lazarides worked with the discreet street artist from 1997 to 2008 after the fellow Bristolians met in the late 1990s and discovered they shared a mutual love of graffiti and innovative street art.

Banksy’s Laugh Now is one of the works offered at auction this week

Banksy’s Love Is In The Air has an estimate of around £40,000

However, it is still strongly suggested that Mr Gunningham is Banksy and researchers at Queen Mary University of London even used a statistical technique of geographical profiling to prove it was him, which is more often used by police to catch criminals.

They claim to have tagged him by identifying a clear pattern between the locations of his art and the addresses he often visits in Bristol and London.

Fans include Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who commissioned a mural for their private gallery on their estate in the south of France four years ago.

Ahead of this week’s auction, Lazarides speaks only fondly of Banksy, describing him as “probably the most famous artist in the world.”

In a promotional video on YouTube, he said: ‘I first heard about Banksy when we were at a meeting at Sleazenation and I met him and I saw his work and it blew me away, man.

‘It had a message, it was funny and it was different. He had fucking balls and he put his stuff in places no one else wanted to go. I was completely sold.’

Banksy’s works were no longer considered graffiti and vandalism, but were now sold for millions at auction. His most expensive work, Love is in the Bin, grossed £18.6 million in 2021.