A legal dispute has erupted over a Banksy mural, *Yellow Lines Flower Painter* (2007), painted on the Bethnal Green Working Man’s Club in east London. The club’s trustees have filed a lawsuit against employee Warren Dent and others, alleging the work was illegally removed and put up for sale in the US. The mural, depicting a workman and a giant flower emerging from double-yellow lines, is currently in Colorado. The club’s former accountant claims secretary Stephen Smorthit agreed to sell the piece to Dent for £20,000 in 2019, after which art restorer Chris Bull removed it and later loaned it to his father’s gallery in Aspen. The trustees argue they never authorized the sale and are demanding the work’s return.
This case highlights the ongoing complexities around Banksy’s street art, particularly the legal and financial ambiguities of removing and selling murals from their original sites. Banksy does not issue certificates of authenticity for wall works, making valuation and ownership disputes more contentious. The outcome could set a precedent for how such works are treated under property and copyright law, especially when removed without clear consent from building owners or the artist’s office.