Banksy's famous fans as new artwork discovered

A new mural that appeared overnight on a building in North London has now been confirmed to be an original Banksy.

The anonymous artist has confirmed he is behind the artwork in Finsbury Park, where a mass of green was painted on a wall behind a real tree that has been cut back and has no leaves. Guerrilla graffiti artist Banksy does not sell his own artwork to collectors, but original Banksy pieces have been sold at auction for as much as £18.5m.

With their high value, great rarity and literal street cred - owning an original Banksy is considered the ultimate in cool and so many celebrities are desperate to get their hands on his art. While Banksy does his best to make it difficult for wealthy collectors to just buy a Banksy because they want one, there are several famous fans who have managed to do just that. And some have even manage to cash in on their investments by selling them on - going against the very ethos of what Banksy is about.

Here are some of the celebrities who have managed to bag a Banksy.

Kate Moss

The British supermodel has been a muse to Banksy - featuring in a set of Andy Warhol inspired silk screen prints, first produced by the artist in 2003, titled Kate Moss. The prints are said to be valued at £80k each. Moss owned at least one of the prints herself but it was stolen from her house during a burglary in 2012.

Moss is thought to be friends with Banksy and a big fan. She is said to own her very own exclusive original Banksy mural on the wall of her bathroom at her home in Highgate in North London. Banksy apparently painted it for her as a wedding gift in 2011, while she was on honeymoon with no ex-husband Jamie Hince.

Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams owned at least three original Banksy pieces, including Kissing Coppers, Girl with Balloon and Vandalised Oils (Choppers) which he used to have on display at his home. The singer said: "I remember seeing [them] for the first time. I believe they are some of his best paintings and I love how closely linked they are to the street pieces. As a collector of Banksy's work, you become part of a broader cultural movement."

The former Take That star is said to have first acquired his painting of Girl with Balloon directly from Banksy in 2006. But in March 2022 he put the pictures up for auction at Sotheby's in London. Choppers went for just under £4.4m, while Girl With Balloon fetched £2.8m. Kissing Coppers was withdrawn from the sale.

Stormzy

Stormzy wore an original Banksy design when he performed at Glastonbury music festival in 2019. The grime star performed wearing a stab vest painted with a Union Jack. But when Banksy revealed he was the artists behind it, Stormzy claimed he had no idea until after the event. It is not known if Stormzy still has the original vest, but a version of the Banksy stab vest was later sold on his online merchandise shop, Gross Domestic Product, for £850.

Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera is said to be a big Banksy fan and was desperate to get her hands on an original work by the artist. Her wish came true in 2006 when she is said to have bought three Banksy's on a trip to London for the bargain price of £25k. The Dirrty singer bought one original and two prints from the Lazarides Gallery in Soho. These included a pornographic picture of Queen Victoria indulging in a sexual act with a prostitute. Gallery owner Steve Lazarides revealed at the time: "She knows all about Banksy and knew what she was looking for."

Chris Martin

Chris Martin picked up his Banksy at a charity auction in 2014 for around £510,000. The Heart Balloon painting on canvas, showing a red heart helium balloon covered in plasters, was sold by Sean Penn at a gala held to help those affected by the Haiti earthquake disaster of 2010.

The Coldplay singer won the auction with the highest bid of $650k, beating offers from Bette Midler and Kevin bacon.

Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber is such a devoted Banksy fan he had a replica of the artist's Girl with Balloon tattooed on his arm in 2014. Banksy responded by tagging the singer and captioning the picture "Controversial."

Bono

U2 frontman Bono is so close to the artist he has actually commissioned his very own Banksy, a rare feat from an artist so determined to do own thing he has publicly destroyed his work to make a statement. Bono is behind Banksy's Sweeping It Under The Carpet, which originally appeared as a mural on a wall in north London. The commission was part of a 2006 edition of the Independent guest-edited by the singer, and aimed to highlight the West's reluctance to tackle the Aids crisis in Africa.

The pair also collaborated for a charity auction organised by Bono in 2008, where one of Banksy's works, Keep It Spotless, sold for £950k.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie split in 2016, but during their relationship they were known to be big fans of Banksy and were spotted at the opening night of his first US exhibit at a warehouse Los Angeles which featured a live elephant. Pitt was also spotted at Banksy theme park Dismaland in Weston-Super-Mare in 2015.

As a couple Brangelina famously paid £1m for a collection of original Banksy's in 2007. Then in 2012 Pitt was said to have commissioned Banksy to create a mural about Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 storm which ravaged New Orleans killing over 1,800 people and leaving thousands more homeless. The mural was said to cover a whole wall at the couple's private art gallery. It is not known who got the art in the divorce.

George Michael

The late singer George Michael – who died aged 53 on Christmas Day 2016 - owned three Banksy artworks. He was known to have paid £400,000 for two Banksy originals. Then in 2012 he commissioned a mural to be painted at his home for a reported £2m.

When Michael died his sisters were said to have inherited a £98m fortune from him.

Read more: Banksy

• Who is Banksy? Everything we know about his identity (Yahoo UK, 6 min read)

• ‘Lost’ Banksy Artwork Was Rediscovered on a London Office Building (Robb Report, 2 min read)

• Where does the law stand on Banksy's stolen artwork? (Yahoo UK, 5 min read)

Watch: Council calls police in hunt for Banksy removed within minutes of artist confirming authenticity