Banksy (b.1974-), is an anonymous British street artist and political activist who is famous for public displays of his satirical social commentary. As perhaps, the most controversial artist of our time, he communicates his idioms to society by combining a seemingly dark sense of humor with spray paint and stencil in public settings throughout the world, with his instantly recognizable style. He began by using stencils, developed out of a need to complete his vandalistic works quickly, but has since evolved into a multi-layer approach using multiple colors. His subject matter includes police officers, soldiers, children, balloons and flowers, which he uses to address social short-comings from consumerism to terrorism.

Banksy gained his popularity by altering public surfaces and domains with his contemplative installations on buildings, streets, printed currency, even going so far as to hang one of his own works in the Louvre and intervene on the Bethlehem Wall. As not only one of the most popular artists of our time, but one of the most popular artists ever, his works reflect that value with a record auction price of $12,966,840 for the work, Devolved Parliament (2009), in 2019. His collectors include celebrities such as Justin Beiber, Serena Williams, Angelina Jolie and Damien Hirst.