Don't Bank On It

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In honor of Fête Nationale (or Bastille Day in l'anglais), here's some news on the art of the Third Estate.

First there's the Moleskine artists and their exquisite pastime sketches.

Then there's D. Billy and his wonderfully playful balloon graffiti.

But the gent who best embodies the anti-authoritarian attitude of the French holiday is the anonymous graffiti artist-avenger Banksy. Yesterday, a British paper stirred up some art-world hoopla by announcing that Banksy is actually Robin Gunningham, a "former public schoolboy" from west England. The pub's reputation for headline-hunting weighs down the scoop's credibility, but the evidence seems solid enough. With the mystery around artists approaching extinction, thanks in part to the loads of info at the touch of an index finger, we kind of wish that the real "Scarlet Pimpernel of modern art" is counting another coup.