They've gone across the Pond

No longer the 'real' Banksy

Photo by Henry Bruce

Banksy's 'Kissing Policemen'

Banksy's 'Kissing Policemen' in Frederick Place

By Jackie Fuller, North Laine resident

A piece of wall bearing one of Banksy’s most iconic works has been flown to America to be sold.

To be auctioned off

Experts predict that the kissing policemen, painted on the wall of The Prince Albert pub in Trafalgar Street in 2004 (actually on the wall round the corner in Frederick Place), could reach in excess of £1 million.

It became a tourist attraction

The image became a tourist attraction and one of the most famous ‘street Banksys’ in the country.

No longer the genuine thing

But the owner of The Prince Albert thought it was time for the policemen to leave Brighton and fly to New York where a private dealer is auctioning them off. This means that, sadly, what you see on the wall today is just a replica, not the original.

[Previously published in the North Laine Runner, No 210, May/June 2011]