Banksy artwork illegally taken and put on sale in America, says Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club trustees

A Banksy artwork, which was painted on the side of the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, is at the centre of a legal battle after trustees claim it was illegally taken and put up for sale in America.

A Banksy artwork, painted on the side of Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club (BGWMC), is at the centre of a legal battle after claims it was illegally taken and put up for sale in America. 

According to a news story by London Centric, trustees of the club launched a lawsuit against multiple parties in May 2025, including the club’s events promoter, Warren Dent, who has been running events at the club since 2006.

The artwork in question, named ‘Yellow Lines Flower Painter’, depicts a slouched workman sitting on a paint can holding a paint roller beside a large yellow flower that connects to the road markings. 

What follows is the murky, slightly confusing ‘hot potato’ tale of the artwork’s fate.

London Centric reports that Warren Dent bought the artwork in 2019 for £20,000 with the permission of BGWMC secretary, Steven Smorthit. This claim is disputed by the BGWMC trustees, who say they never gave their permission for the sale.

Dent then hired Chris Bull, the Technical Director at Fine Art Restoration Company, to remove and restore the artwork. Fine Art Restoration Company are named as a defendant alongside Dent in the lawsuit.

Bull claims that, after a meeting with Dent and three other club members, the artwork was taken to Aspen, Colorado, on loan to Bull’s father’s art gallery for an art exhibition in 2024. 

According to Bull, the insurance valuation of the artwork was $750,000, or about £550,000 – notably more than its original sale to Dent at £20,000.

However, BGWMC’s trustees, Kerry Smorthit (the club secretary’s daughter), Alan Milliner, and Paul Le Masurier, say that the artwork has been taken and put up for sale unlawfully in America. Having rejected the claim that they consented to Dent’s purchase of the piece in 2019, the trustees argue that Dent cannot sell something he doesn’t own.

Fine Art Restoration Company will contest the claims, with Bull telling the Financial Times, ‘We’re only named because we’re in possession of the work and we’re up for giving it up if we’re asked to.’

The Slice reached out to Dent, but he declined to comment to avoid any risk to his case. The BGWMC trustees filing the case have not responded to media requests. 

‘Yellow Lines Flower Painter’ was painted by the mystery street artist in 2007, but it heavily deteriorated as time went on. 

Before its removal, the flower was connected to parking lines on the pavement and road. However, Tower Hamlets Council scrubbed away the paint from the pavement, and other graffiti artists began spraying their work on top. 

Separate from the Banksy artwork lawsuit, BGWMC has had a turbulent year. 

In 2024, an ownership dispute ensued when the original Working Men’s Club members who own the building announced their plans to sell in May 2024. 

They served Dent and fellow resident events promoter, Charlotte West-Williams, a two-month eviction notice, triggering a battle to save the club. A petition backed by over 13,000 people resulted in Tower Hamlets Council designating the building as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), giving the local community a ‘right to bid’ if the building is put for sale. 

A fundraising effort by the community group Friends of Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club raised nearly £20,000, but, since then, news of the possible sale has gone quiet.

Despite the loss of this Banksy, others can still be found in Tower Hamlets. In early August 2024, Banksy went on a painting splurge around London, including three silhouettes of monkeys swinging along on a railway bridge in Brick Lane.

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