Artist Finds Way Into Tate

A well-known graffiti artist glued one of his own works on the wall of Tate Britain.

The artist, known as Banksy, visited Tate Britain in prosthetic make-up to make him look elderly. He then took his framed painting out of a bag, a rural scene which had an image of police tape stencilled on to it, and stuck it on the wall unchallenged. A card next to it read: "Banksy 1975. Crimewatch UK Has Ruined The Countryside For All Of Us. 2003. Oil On Canvas."

The caption added, "The artist has found an unsigned oil painting and then stencilled police incident tape over the top.

"He argues that ruining the work in this way reflects how our nation has been vandalised by an obsession with crime and paedophilia.

"Any visit to a secluded beauty spot now feels like it may result in being molested or finding discarded body parts. Presented by the artist personally in 2003."

Tate Britain said in a statement that a man had "left a personal possession in one of the galleries at Tate Britain.

The staetement continued, "Tate security discovered the item a short while later and it was removed. It is currently being held in lost property."

Artist in Tate Without an Invitation