The mural, showing a stick-man drawing of a child hoop trundling with a burning tyre, was painted after a seven-year-old pupil had a suggestion accepted to name one of the school’s houses Banksy.
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Mysterious artist Banksy has reared his head again, this time painting a surprise mural on a wall of a primary school based in Bristol. Plus, he’d also written his own name, “Banksy”, at the bottom of the image despite the fact that he never usually signs off his work.
Pest Control, his agents who authenticate his work, promptly confirmed to the Guardian that it is genuine – despite their warning “because many Banksy pieces are created in an advanced state of intoxication the authentication process can be lengthy and challenging” – and that the school has framed the note.
Pupils at the school had previously taken part in a competition to name the school’s houses, with the winning designs Brunel, Cabot, Blackbeard and Banksy.
It was discovered as teachers returned from the half-term break along with a letter saying “it’s always easier to get forgiveness than permission”.
Mr Mason said: “It was lovely that he responded to the children’s letter and we’re thrilled he has paid us a visit and left us our attractive mural”.
The artist left a letter explaining his decision to pay the Bristol location a visit.
The children at the school then wrote to Banksy to tell him they had made a decision to name a house after him.
“It’s here because I won Banksy for the house design”.
“We really just wrote to him just to let him know and to invite comment really”. Unusually the mural includes a signature, but in the tricky world of real and fake Banksy, that’s no guarantee of authenticity.
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“I’m sure the teachers won’t mind. The staff had to make quite a few calls this morning to make sure nobody cleaned it off”.
