Is that you Mrs Banksy? Parliamentary lobbyist Joy Millward is wife of Robin Gunningham, 50, who is named in upcoming court case and believed to be famous artist

A woman believed to be married to the elusive street artist Banksy is herself a former Labor parliamentary lobbyist.

Joy Millward is the wife of Robin Gunningham, 50, who has been named in a High Court case against ‘The Artist known as Banksy’ as the first defendant.

Ms Millward is originally from the West Midlands and worked as a researcher for Labor MP Austin Mitchell. She later founded Principle Affairs, a charity lobby group, and is said to have met Gunningham around 2003.

They got married in Las Vegas in 2006, but are believed to keep themselves to themselves, even among neighbors. One source said: ‘Even those they occasionally speak to have no idea who they really are.

“The only people who know his real identity are those in the inner circle, who have been vetted. Some of Joy’s relatives have not been told who her husband is and what he does.’

For years, Banksy’s real identity was a celebrated mystery among the press and public.

The guerrilla painter’s works, which often adorn the facades of houses that appear to have been chosen at random, can cause buildings to increase in value, leaving their owners bewildered.

But this week the anonymous artist may be forced to reveal his true identity after being named in a High Court case.

Andrew Gallagher, a rave pioneer and graffiti influencer, is suing ‘The Artist Known as Banksy’ for defamation, while Pest Control Ltd – which sells Banksy’s artwork – is listed as a co-defendant.

Gallagher’s lawyers have declined to reveal details of the case, citing confidentiality, but the court hearing could reveal Banksy’s identity.

For 30 years, a list of flamboyant public figures have been linked to the artist’s identity, including Massive Attack singer Robert Del Naja, Gorillaz man Jamie Hewlett and even Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan. The Sun reports this.

But one name stands out from the rest – that of pop-up artist Robin Gunningham, 50 – who has kept his profile largely under the radar.

Crucially, he is named as the first defendant in Gallagher’s lawsuit against Banksy.

Newspapers, originating from Banksy’s home city of Bristol, have tried in the past to definitively identify Gunningham as the guerrilla artist, but were unable to do so.

Scientists from Queen Mary University attempted to link Gunningham to graffiti that appeared in Jamaica in 2004.

Researchers captured a photo of a man in baggy clothing armed with stencils, a sketchbook and spray cans.

But the ID was far from watertight as Banksy insisted he was not the man in the photo, nor did Gunningham’s parents.

Despite this, observers noted a similarity between the man in the photo and a 1989 school photo of pupils at Bristol Cathedral School, believed to include Gunningham.

Gunningham himself has maintained a strict code of confidentiality since he was first linked to Banksy, as has his wife Joy Millward.

Gunningham, son of contracts manager Peter Gunningham and secretary Pamela Dawkin-Jones, grew up in the affluent Clifton area of ​​Bristol and is said to have aspired to be an artist from an early age.

Scott Nurse, a former classmate, described Gunningham as one of three people in his year group who were ‘extremely talented in art’, adding that he did a lot of illustrations.

Anthony Hallett, who lived near the family, remembered them fondly.

He said: ‘The family were always very nice. I’m not sure, but I think Robin worked as a graffiti artist. He worked for other people and would disappear for months. He was quite nomadic.

‘I wouldn’t go so far as to say he went off the rails, but there was some sort of division in the family, probably because he didn’t turn out quite as they had hoped. He just disappeared after he left home.”

In 1985, the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol staged an exhibition called Graffiti Art In Britain, which featured artists spraying paint directly onto the gallery walls and featuring hip-hop band The Wild Bunch, which later became Massive Attack.

In a 2006 interview with pop culture magazine Swindle, Banksy said: ‘I came from a relatively small town in southern England. When I was about ten years old, a kid named 3D was painting hard in the street. I think he had been to New York and was the first to bring spray paint back to Bristol. I grew up seeing spray paint on the street long before I ever saw it in a magazine or on a computer.

‘3D quit painting and formed the band Massive Attack, which may have been good for him, but a great loss for the city. Graffiti was something we all loved at school. We did it on the bus on the way home from school. Everyone did it.’

Banksy’s first exhibition was in Shoreditch in 2001, but he only achieved mainstream success a few years later with his Turf War show.

He subsequently created famous pieces including The Girl with Balloon, which was shredded in a bizarre stunt at a Sotheby’s auction in London before selling for £18.6 million ($25.4 million).

His documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010.

And in 2015 he presented the subversive theme park design ‘Dismaland’ in Weston-Super-Mare, full of incongruous artwork and advertised as ‘the unhappiest place on earth’.