15 Celebrities Who Love Banksy

Image via Complex Original

Earlier this year, Bieber got yet another tattoo—this time, a well-known Banksy stencil of a little girl holding a red balloon. The Biebs got a lot of hate in his IG comments, and he deleted the image pretty quickly.

In the past, the power couple spent over $1 million on a Banksy piece at an art show in L.A. More recently, they somehow managed to convince the notoriously private and picky artist to accept a commission for their private collection: a large-scale mural centered around Hurricane Katrina, which now covers an entire wall on their French estate.

Drake posted the picture above on his Instagram, omitting any context save for the caption, “Who Dat.” The A/P most likely stands for “artist's proof,” indicating that the piece may be from an early printmaking or a draft that he purchased.

An art collector and a regular at fairs like Art Basel, Diddy recently Instagrammed Banksy's piece London Phone Booth with the simple yet enthusiastic caption, “BANKSY.” 

Back when the world was a happier place, and Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow were still together, the Coldplay frontman paid a cool $650,000 for Banksy's Heart Balloon piece—beating out bids from Bette Midler and Kevin Bacon. The proceeds were collected at Sean Penn's annual charity event, the Help Haiti Home Gala, providing relief to those who need it in Haiti.

A known art enthusiast, Swizz Beatz spoke with Revolt TV about Banksy's residency in New York. In the video, he discusses his love for street art and growing up surrounded by graffiti in the South Bronx. He expresses admiration for the fact that Banksy's art is available to people who “probably never would be able to afford to go to a gallery,” adding that “you should be able to see art for no price.”

For his 30th birthday, Gyllenhaal's mother managed to score him one of 350 prints that Banksy was selling. The actor joked that he could picture his devoted mom, desperate to nab a coveted print for her son, in London “just throwing thugs against the wall and being like, 'Where's Banksy, I know where you hide him!'”

The Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman is still kicking himself for not investing in a Banksy piece when he had the chance. In his interview with The Sun, he confessed, “I met Banksy years ago and made the mistake of not buying art from him.” Considering that now Banksy sells his works for millions of dollars, that has to hurt. Still, Kiedis gracefully added, “I'm happy for him and the wave he's created.”

The supermodel is both a fan and friend of the artist who, in 2011, was commissioned to paint a mural in the bathroom of her mansion. Additionally, one of Banksy's most popular prints features Moss styled like Marilyn Monroe à la Andy Warhol.

The British pop icon, who already owns around $600,000 in Banksy pieces, offered the artist over $3 million to paint a wall in his North London home. Apparently, Banksy agreed to accept the commission but “insisted on remaining undercover and [would] only go ahead if George Michael [went] out for the duration.”

The notorious British artist has several pieces by Banksy in his own personal collection. In an interview with The Guardian, he said the following about Banksy, “I've always thought he was great. The streets are boring. So I think anyone like Banksy who makes it entertaining and treats people like people instead of consumers is brilliant.”

In 2012, the Art Series hotels in Melbourne, Australia challenged guests to “steal” two Banksy pieces hidden within the buildings. Whoever managed to pull off the theft without being noticed would get to keep the piece, free of charge. If they failed, the art would simply be returned to its hiding spot. Serena Williams (a painter herself), who was staying at the hotel at the time, helped to present the challenge and then later tweeted about it, saying, “I might try…tonight.”

The pop diva, an avid street art collector, owns “around 10 Banksys.” Most recently, she purchased his painting of Queen Victoria sitting on another woman's face for around $40,000. In speaking of her admiration for the artist, Aguilera proclaimed that Banksy “has a rhyme and reason to [his artwork], and isn't just painting a cheeseburger to be graphically interesting.”

When Bono was a guest editor at the Independent, he commissioned Banksy to paint a piece titled Sweeping it Under the Carpet. According to the Independent, the painting “can be seen as a metaphor for the West's reluctance to tackle issues such as AIDS in Africa.” The pair also collaborated at a charity auction organized by Bono, where one of Banksy's works sold for $1.8 milion.

Jude Law, who bought some of M.I.A.'s art before she became a musician, owns some of Banksy's works and was one of the many celebrities in attendance at the Banksy's L.A. exhibition, “Barely Legal.”