It was a cold, frosty morning just days before Christmas when Port Talbot steelworker Ian Lewis woke up to a strange sight in his garden.
His garage, which had looked like any other before he went to bed, had been visited by one of the most renowned street artists in the world, Banksy, who had painted a remarkable and thought-provoking mural on its walls overnight.
The now-famous painting shows a child dressed for the winter, with his arms outstretched and his tongue sticking out, appearing to catch snowflakes on one wall - but on the other side of the wall, it's clear that the apparent snowflakes are actually flakes from ash and smoke from a fire in a skip.
The painting - later named "Season's Greetings" - became a tourist hotspot, drawing crowds from across Port Talbot, the wider South Wales region and from all across the UK, all eager to see Banksy's latest street artwork.
Unfortunately, the work did not stay put, it was purchased by a collector and transferred to a vacant shop unit near Port Talbot's train station and now, after three years in Port Talbot, the modern masterpiece will be making its way to England and taking up a permanent home on-show at the University of Suffolk in Ipswich.
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Whilst Port Talbot has been unable to hold onto the piece, after owner John Brandler and Neath Port Talbot Council failed to reach an agreement over a permanent home for the artwork in the town, some other towns and cities across the UK have managed to keep their Banksy artworks for years, whilst others have covered the paintings over.
Here's how Banksy's artworks have fared elsewhere:
Birmingham: Keeping Banksy artwork as it's too expensive to remove it
Banksy has stunned Brummies with several artworks in recent years, with the 2019 "Christmas Reindeers" painting in Vyse Street in the city's Jewellery Quarter causing particular interest nationally.
Banksy shared a photo of his painting on Instagram which depicted two reindeers flying into the sky and appearing to pull a bench with an apparently homeless person sleeping on it.
Soon after the painting appeared, the council put barriers around it to protect it. Unfortunately, this didn't stop a vandal from defacing the painting by spraying red noses on the reindeer.
But while the red noses mean the mural looks slightly different to how Banksy designed it, it is still located in Vyse Street for all to see.
In February, 2021, BirminghamLive explained that it had asked Network Rail, which owns the railway bridge the artwork was sprayed on, and it had no plans to get rid of the piece. It said this was due to the "complex reality and cost of removing the street art."
A spokesperson for Network Rail told BirminghamLive last year: "When Banksy chose Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and our railway bridge as his canvas in December, 2019, there was feverish interest in the artwork. This has waned during the coronavirus pandemic. The artwork has become a firm fixture for visitors to the second city and we periodically check it to make sure fans of the internationally acclaimed street artist can continue to enjoy his work."
Nottingham: Sold its Banksy piece to an art dealer in Essex
"Hula Hooping Girl," a street art piece by Banksy depicting - you've guessed it - a girl in a hula hoop, appeared on a wall outside a hair salon in Lenton, Nottingham, on October, 13, 2020.
Whilst many locals immediately speculated that it was a Banksy, the artist himself didn't claim the artwork until four days later.
The mural stayed at its site for four months but in February, 2021, it was announced the artwork was to be moved to a museum in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. It had been sold by the owners of the building (not the salon owners) to a gallery owner from Essex.
At the time, the new owner of the mural said the artwork was being moved out of Nottingham because the "great and good" of the city did not take the opportunity to keep it there.
John Brandler, owner of Brandler Galleries in Essex, who also owns the Port Talbot Banksy, told NottinghamLive that the artwork would be relocated "because nobody asked me [to keep it in Nottingham]. "
He added: "If somebody thinks that if there’s a call for it and there’s a space for it to happen then why not Nottingham. The great and the good of Nottingham have had the opportunity to approach the building owner since this piece arrived to say we would like to keep it for the city of Nottingham.
"I didn’t turn up in the middle of Nottingham with a chainsaw and steal it. Anybody in Nottingham could have done the same thing. Everybody’s got 2020 hindsight."
It's understood Mr Brandler paid a "six figure sum" for the Hula Hooping Girl painting and the sellers (the owners of the building) donated this money to local organisations.
Hull: Hid its artwork away
Banksy's famous painting in Hull "Draw the Raised Bridge" has been locked away behind closed doors for more than two years, according to HullLive.
The mural, which depicts a child sat on a ledge with a colander on his head as a helmet and a toy sword in his hand, first appeared on Scott Street bridge in the city in January, 2018.
The artwork drew nationwide attention and proudly adorned the wall of the bridge until October, 2019, when Hull City Council ordered its removal ahead of dismantling the bridge.
The bridge, which is Grade II listed and had been closed to vehicles since 1995, is being taken down due to safety concerns.
It's understood the Draw the Raised Bridge artwork will be returned to the bridge site in the not too distant future. For now though, it's in a secret location!
Liverpool: The mysterious artwork that went missing
Liverpool's "Love Plane" mural mysteriously flew away from its site for a few years - but it's back now and is enjoyed by visitors and locals every day.
The artwork was painted back in 2011 on a wall in Rumford Street in the city and soon became one of Banksy's best known Liverpool works.
It adorned the wall proudly for five years, before it was removed - with just a plaque left in its place.
The plaque claimed the artwork had been removed for restoration and that it would be moved to a new display at a street art gallery in the city.
Bizarrely, the gallery was never set up, the LiverpoolEcho reports, and the piece seemingly went missing. But in February, 2019, the artwork was placed back on the wall.
A witness said a "hooded figure" was repainting the wall - the finished artwork showed the "love plane" inside the hole that was left by the previous artwork, trailing the words, "I'm Back".
It's understood that the Love Plane mural is still located in Rumford Street for the public to enjoy.
Brighton: the artwork that was sold to someone in America
Arguably one of Banksy's most well known pieces, Kissing Coppers showed two police officers kissing and was originally found on the side of the Prince Albert pub in Trafalgar Street, Brighton.
The piece garnered widespread attention for not only being a Banksy piece, but also for showing two male officers kissing - something that sadly brought repeated homophobic vandalism.
The piece appeared on the wall in 2004, and was removed in 2011 and replaced with a replica.
The owner of the pub ultimately sold the piece in Miami, Florida, in 2014 for $575,000 (roughly £423,000).
Whilst the original painting can no longer be seen publicly, the replica remains in place behind perspex outside the pub.
Interestingly, singer Robbie Williams also has a version of the Kissing Coppers artwork, estimated at £2.5 million to £3.5 million, and it's going up for sale this year.
According to BristolLive, it will be the first time a Kissing Coppers painting on canvas will be sold on the secondary market.
Speaking of the artworks, singer and former member of Take That, Robbie said: "I remember seeing Girl With Balloon, Vandalised Oils (Choppers) and Kissing Coppers for the first time. I believe they are some of his best paintings and I love how closely linked they are to the street pieces.
“As a collector of Banksy’s work, you become part of a broader cultural movement.”
Hugo Cobb, head of The Now Evening Auction at Sotheby’s London (the auction house due to sell the works) said: "These works unite the cultural legacies of two of Britain’s biggest stars: Robbie Williams and Banksy. Like their creator, and like their owner, they are acerbic, iconic, irreverent, and unique."
Robbie Williams' three paintings have been on show in New York and are set to be displayed in Hong Kong and London later this month.
Bristol: the city that celebrates Banksy
Whilst his identity remains anonymous, it's widely understood that Banksy comes from Bristol.
It's unsurprising then, that the talented artist has adorned multiple walls in the city with his quirky, thought-provoking pieces.
Banksy is first thought to have jumped into the street art scene as a teenager in the late 1980s, but it wasn't until the 2000s that he truly gained national and international attention.
In 2019 he took over the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, completely confidentially, for an exhibition showcasing some of his works, whilst others can be found dotted all around the city.
Among them, the "Valentine's Day Mural" can be found on Marsh Lane in Bristol's Barton Hill district, whilst "Well Hung Lover" can be found on the side of a sexual health clinic in Frogmore Street, central Bristol.
There are so many Banksy artworks that you can actually go on a walking tour of them around the city. There's a "Banksy Bristol Trail" app designed by Cactus Apps, and a "A Piece Of Banksy" self-guided walking tour available through the Visit Bristol tourism site here.
Weston-super-Mare: the town that housed Banksy's bizarre anti-theme park
Residents of a seaside town in Somerset didn't know what hit them when thousands of people descended on the beach to queue up for Banksy's anti-theme park art exhibition, "Dismaland".
A play-on-words of Disneyland, this Mickey-take (sorry!) art exhibit in a disused swimming lido was open for just 36 days, from August 21, 2015 to September 27, 2015.
It was dubbed a "bemusement park" and a "family theme park unsuitable for children" and showcased 10 works by Banksy and pieces from 58 other artists, carefully chosen by Banksy.
Tickets were just £3 each and there were 4,000 available each day - and tickets sold out each day very quickly.
After its one-month run, the artworks were taken down and the building materials repurposed for shelters for refugees in Camp de la Lande in Calais, France.
St Leonards - the town that needs to save its Banksy from deterioration
On the back of some steps leading down to a pebbly beach in the quaint seaside town of St Leonards in East Sussex stands a quirky mural of a child wearing a sunhat and sunglasses building sandcastles on the beach.
Five of the six sandcastles he's built say "Tesco," seen by many as a political comment that commercial companies and supermarket giants are taking over every aspect of our lives, even the simplest of things like building a sandcastle.
The artwork, simply named Tesco Sandcastle, first appeared in 2010 and was soon vandalised, leading to the local council putting a perspex screen up around it.
But over the last decade, the wood and rusty screws holding the screen have come free from the steps, reports the Hastings and St Leonards Observer, exposing the artwork to rain, sand and everything in between.
The mural has also faded over the years - so residents are urging the council to take action to preserve the piece. But Coastal Currents, a local group supporting artists and musicians, says it would be better for the council to invest in local artists and commission them to create art for the town.
For now, Tesco Sandcastles remains in its spot in St Leonards, but it's unknown how long it will last.
And finally.... the Port Talbot seasons are over for Season's Greetings
It drew headlines across national and international newspapers for weeks and people flocked to Ian Lewis's quiet Richmond Terrace address to feast their eyes on the modern masterpiece, with many saying Banksy was making a political statement about the natural environment becoming unsustainable and industry becoming toxic.
People drove across the country - or flew from abroad - to see the painting in real-life and interest became so chaotic that the council had to put staff and fencing around Ian's garage to guard it.
But it wasn't to stay there for long. Offered a six-figure sum for the painting, Ian sold it to Essex-based art dealer John Brandler who arranged for the painting to be put on display in Ty'r Orsaf in Station Road in Port Talbot town centre, in the hope more people would be able to see it.
Though an exhibition at the site has been open to the public throughout the last two years (when lockdown regulations permitted), locals criticised organisers for only opening the exhibition on certain days, and placing the mural in such a way that it was difficult to truly appreciate it, due to reflections from the windows.
Nevertheless, Port Talbot residents could still see the painting, and thousands did, but they soon won't be able to see it in person in Port Talbot anymore.
That's because Season's Greetings is set to move to England - much to locals' dismay.
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