Cheers for your patience.

If we could wait until 28 August to see if anything appears on Banksy's website or Instagram, that would be appreciated.



Like bookends , I too am unfazed by the BBC article.

For me, that isn't a credible source for Banksy authenticity matters. It seems to have been written by someone who may have had a tight deadline, allowed themselves to be misled, or was a bit muddled.

Given the presence of at least two fake rats we've recently seen in Glasgow, including a stolen one featured in The Scottish Sun, confusion could easily have arisen between those clear fakes and the Orange Order rat during a brief email or telephone exchange with some anonymous spokesperson:


www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/10847140/banksy-riddle-glasgow-artwork-stolen-queen-street/









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In the meantime, we have an opportunity to encourage ourselves to look at street art in greater detail, not just casually.

It is a way for us to keep training our eyes, to more‑quickly recognise tells — like stencil‑cutting and spraying techniques, level of and attention to detail, placement, speed and confidence of execution, and final touch‑ups to pieces (such as visually‑pleasing messiness and deliberate "mistakes" like drips and overspray).



Even something as minor as wall preparation and priming can become recognisable, for example in its meticulousness or the materials used.

When looking at the black wall on which the Orange Order rat appeared, in the right light we see the wall wasn't initially a blank surface. Some tagging was already there. And it was then covered up — by the black spraypaint of a graffiti writer, not by the buffing paint roller of a council worker:






We can also begin to recognise the other patterns of an artist — their general aesthetics, character and writing styles, colour palette, tone, sensibility, preferred themes, and favourite subject matters.



In the case of the Orange Order rat, to my eyes and mind, all the elements referred to above immediately point to Banksy. I see the presence of no red flag indicating otherwise.


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At the risk of stating the obvious, training one's eye is critical for any art collector. Time is needed to really look at, pay attention to, and think about artwork.

Those who lack a good eye are at a clear disadvantage. Among other things, they're more vulnerable to making poor buying decisions that involve bad art or counterfeit art.


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The type of person none of us should want to become or buy from is Robin Barton, a.k.a. Bankrobber.

Here is an individual with something like two decades in the business of dealing, especially in Banksys. Yet despite this extensive experience, he still isn't observant enough to immediately spot an obviously-fake Banksy street piece.

So convinced was he about its genuineness that he was willing to stake his reputation and pay £250,000 for it on national television.



Barton*: "[...] I stand by the fact that until someone proves it is not Banksy it remains Banksy."

Now, apart from delusional wishful thinkers and/or the stupid, who actually justifies a very expensive purchase on such a logically‑flawed basis? Baffling. Similar to me saying, "[...] I stand by the fact that until someone proves the painting I found in the skip is not a Vermeer, it remains a Vermeer."



My sympathies go to Barton's clients. They're the real dupes to feel sorry for — the ones actually paying money to an impostor who pretends to know what he's doing.

It makes me wince.

I have two tickets for 16:00 hours tomorrow Saturday 24 June that I most likely won’t get to use. Will give them away in exchange for one pack of the tote / posters etc from the gift shop. DM me if of interest.

I'll be in Glasgow tomorrow if anyone has unwanted briefs.

I'd love to take my 6 year old son as I think he'd enjoy it and recognise the images.

I'll get you a poster set in return.

Can someone please check on Met and his sex robot.

Anyone know why Banksy had a laminated Pukka Pie poster in his boyhood bedroom? There must be a reason why. It was a retro poster that might have been this one.

I'm still in the "no" camp on the Orange Order rat.

Not that I would take any joy in seeing met lose his bet, but would the "exhibition's publicists" be sufficiently in the know?

"The exhibition’s publicists later insisted neither this nor the smattering of other rats which have appeared then disappeared across the city centre were Banksys."

www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/jun/23/glasgow-graffito-not-by-banksy-removed-as-exhibition-opens-at-goma

If that is the best he had to ‘work with’, Banksy either had a very deprived upbringing or an unbelievably good imagination.