A large statue that mysteriously appeared in central London earlier this week has been confirmed as the work of the street artist Banksy. The piece, which bears the artist’s signature, depicts a suited man carrying a flag that obstructs his face as he walks off a plinth.
It was installed in Banksy’s signature fly-by-night guerrilla style at Waterloo Place in St. James’s, central London, near other statues of figures from British history. The work is near statues of Edward VII and Florence Nightingale, as well as a memorial dedicated to the Crimean War. Also nearby is a gilded statue of Athena on the facade of the Athenaeum Club.
The work was installed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, while a video shared to Banksy’s social media this afternoon confirmed its authenticity after growing speculation. Crowds have gathered to take photos of the statue, and it is unclear how long it will remain in place.
“[Banksy has] pulled off another fantastic coup . . . the positioning is absolutely knockout,” said James Peak, the creator of the BBC podcast series The Banksy Story, in an interview with the BBC. “Here, you’ve got a brilliant comment on a bumptious, chest-puffed-out man in power with the flag completely obscuring his vision, which is why he is about to fall off the plinth. . . . I don’t know how he’s managed to do it.”
Banksy is best known for his graffiti, though he has installed statues elsewhere before, including one titled The Drinker (2004), which he placed in London’s West End in 2004. The piece was a play on The Thinker (1904), by Auguste Rodin, and was removed shortly thereafter.
Other recent public artworks by Banksy in London have included a mural at the Royal Courts of Justice last year and a series of animal artworks around the city in 2024.
