A Bristol youth club boss has admitted when he first spotted a piece of graffiti art sprayed onto his door, he had no idea it was a Banksy.
The Riverside Youth Project, in Easton, gained international attention eight years ago when it sold a Banksy work with the artist’s blessing after finding it on a boarded-up doorway outside.
Dennis Stinchcombe was the first person to find the creation, which showed two lovers embracing while both staring at their phones, but believed it was the work of vandals. Two days later he discovered the artist behind the piece - entitled Mobile Lovers - was the Banksy, after fans and film crews descended on the building, reports the Sun.
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It's understood that Bristol's elusive street artist was a former member of the club - and this was his attempt to help keep the project alive after a lack of funding meant it could be forced to close. Dennis took the artwork onto the Antiques Roadshow, where it was valued at £400,000 but later told for £563,000.
He told the Sun : “Established over 128 years ago, the youth club I run is one of the oldest in the country and keeping it going has been my life’s work.
“We help hundreds of children every year, providing a safe space where they can go and keep them off the streets, and I’ve helped run it for 46 years - so I was devastated when financial troubles threatened to close us down.
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“Things came to a head in 2013 when I had a triple-heart bypass and spent six months in recovery. Looking back, I think in part this was caused by the stress of constantly trying to secure funding to keep the centre open.
“We were six months from closing, and once I was better we started a new fundraising campaign. Banksy – who, unbeknown to me, had been a member of the club when he was around 14 - must have read about it."
The 66-year-old said he was with his son when they spotted the artwork on a door outside the club.
He said: “I thought it was amazing, but didn’t for one second think it was a Banksy – until suddenly two days later, loads of people descended, after the artist himself had posted a photo of the piece on his website."
Dennis admits he "thought there'd been a murder" by the amount of cameras and film crew outside.
While Dennis was thrilled to have an authentic Banksy etched on the door of his club, a fight then broke out with the council over who owned it.
Luckily, the artist himself settled the dispute.
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Dennis says: "Banksy sent a letter to me confirming it belonged to me, and it was stored in the museum for safe keeping.
"It was valued at £400k, and later sold for £563k. I can genuinely say it transformed and changed the lives of so many."
Dennis and his team donated £96k to other youth groups in the area, which he says has helped thousands of young people access youth work.
They were also able to buy two new mini buses, as well as install central heating and replace old equipment.
Dennis adds: “Most importantly, we were able to keep going. In monetary terms, the art was sold for hundreds of thousands, but to us it was absolutely priceless. To us, it was priceless - I can't thank Banksy enough."
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