Banksy street art pops up around town

SF Public Press

— Apr 26 2010 - 2:31pm

British graffiti artist Banksy has been leaving his mark around San Francisco, including a rat that appeared this morning on the side of the Red Victorian Cafe on Haight Street.

Banksy, who keeps his identity a closely guarded secret, has placed his street art in cities around the world. He does not sell his street art, but others have auctioned off his works for as high as six figures and pop and movie stars have been among the purchasers.

Although one of his recent San Francisco works was quickly painted over, others like “This’ll Look Nice When Its Framed” at Valencia and 19^th streets have been on display for a week or more.

Banksy has branched out into films with his first effort, “Exit Through the Gift Shop,’’ now showing at several Bay Area theaters.