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Smile please, it's a Banksy
By Anna Davis, Evening Standard 20.08.07Guerrilla artist Banksy may have struck again after a piece of graffiti in his distinctive style was found on the side of a pub.
The 6ft mural of a young girl with the word "smile" daubed above her head in multicoloured letters appeared outside the North Star in Whitton Road, Hounslow.
Landlord Paul Riley had to persuade Hounslow council not to paint over the potentially lucrative mural as part of its anti graffiti drive.
He has even set up a CCTV camera near the wall to protect his new artwork from vandals.
Mr Riley said: "This was done in broad daylight. When I left the pub it was 10.15am and nothing was on the wall.
"I came back at 11am and someone had written 'Smile'. I thought it was because people always tell me I don't smile enough. Then two months later the picture of the girl appeared.
"I went mad at first, but then I phoned the council to tell them not to paint over it because it was a work of art. They came to look at it and agreed with me.I think it is lovely." The painting has now become a talking point in the area.
Mr Riley said: "People come to take photographs of it. They keep telling me it's a Banksy and it's worth a lot of money."
Banksy's work is currently on display at the Hospital gallery in Covent Garden as part of the exhibition Warhol vs Banksy.
A piece of Banksy graffiti from a stall in Tottenham Court Road was put on sale for £230,000 this year. The image, entitled What?, showed a young boy holding a paintbrush.
In February workers from Network Rail painted over a Banksy piece near Waterloo station. The stencilled picture was of a monkey preparing to blow up a bunch of bananas.
In January thieves cut away a section of wall in Gloucester Gardens, Paddington, with another Banksy image on it.
It featured a black silhouette of a rat bouncing a beach ball and was put up for sale on eBay for £20,000. The auction site was forced to take it down.
Reader views (2)
Banksy is a genius!. He's art work always seems to reflect the conciousness of the public and pretty much voices what the majority think/see.
i have many photos of Banksy' art and refuse to buy his art which has been ripped off and put on canvas by rude people who are just trading on his name (one particular Covent Garden stall holder springs to mind). have the thrill of the hunt and find the original, it adds so much more to the picture when you've taken it yourself.
i believe the newest one is on Newman St (just off Oxford St) in the post office depot.
- Nikki Frankis, Eastbourne East Sussex
I really do not think this is by Banksy.
- M, Staines
