Banksy's Valentine’s Day Mascara dismantled hours after being claimed

The artwork with an apparent theme of domestic abuse shows a 1950s-era housewife with a swollen eye and a missing tooth

Banksy's Valentine's Day Mascara before it was dismantled. PA

A new Banksy wall painting in Kent, which appears to have a theme of domestic abuse and fighting violence against women, has been dismantled hours after the elusive artist claimed it as his work.

It shows a 1950s-era housewife wearing a blue pinafore and yellow washing-up gloves, with a swollen eye and a missing tooth, who looks to be shoving her male partner into a chest freezer placed in front of the painting.

Banksy's Valentine’s Day mascara. PA

The scene, which is set against a dirty white wall, was surrounded by litter, including a broken garden chair and a blue crate.

The resident of the property where the painting was created, who asked not to be identified, told the PA news agency the freezer and other items used in the artwork had been removed “very quickly” and put into a truck at midday on Tuesday.

“I’m absolutely upset because it’s not really nice," the resident said. "It was part of the art. They should be very happy because Margate could get bigger attention, positive attention.

“Why did they move those parts? It’s just silly.”

She said she asked the people who removed the items why they were doing so and they replied that they had been told to do so by the local council.

"They are just doing the task, it’s not their idea but they must do it.”

The tenant said her landlady had tried to send people to guard the artwork but they were unable to before the pieces were removed.

The British street artist shared a series of images of the artwork on Instagram, captioning the piece “Valentine’s Day mascara”. They include close-ups of the woman’s smiling but seemingly battered face.

Banksy throughout the years — in pictures

People take pictures of a new Banksy artwork in Islington, London, in March 2024. Getty Images

A work by Banksy is removed in Peckham, south-east London, in December 2023. Getty Images

Graffiti created by British artist Banksy under a protective screen on the damaged wall of a residential building in Irpin, Ukraine in April 2023. Getty Images

An artwork painted on the side of a property in Herne Bay, Kent in March 2023. PA

The artwork by street artist Banksy, titled 'Valentine's Day Mascara' on the side of a building in Margate, Kent in February 2023. PA

A Reveller walks by a graffiti attributed to Banksy as he arrives at Worthy Farm in Somerset during the Glastonbury Festival in June 2022. Reuters

A Banksy artwork in Nottingham in October 2020. Reuters

Show me the Monet by Banksy at Sotheby's Galleries in London in October 2020. AFP

Banksy's Sunflowers From Petrol Station, inspired by Vincent van Gogh. PA

Banksy captioned the photo of this work Game Changer. Photo: Instagram

A customised stab-proof vest by street artist Banksy at the Design Museum in London. EPA

A Banksy stencil posted on Instagram in June 2020, with a caption asking 'What should we do with the empty plinth in the middle of Bristol?' Photo: Instagram

A Banksy piece inspired by the death of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. Photo: Instagram

Girl with a Pierced Eardrum, in Bristol. Getty

Banksy released a new piece in his bathroom as he worked from home during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Photo: Instagram

A Valentine's Day piece by Banksy appeared in Bristol in February 2020. Reuters

A Christmas mural by Banksy in Birmingham, December 2019. The piece made a statement about homelessness. Reuters

Banksy's pop-up shop called Gross Domestic Product in Croydon, London in 2019. AFP

A view of Banksy's migrant child mural, half-submerged in high water in Venice, November 2019. EPA

Devolved Parliament at Sotheby's auction house in London, featuring chimpanzees as MPs in the House of Commons. EPA

A Banksy artwork in Marble Arch, London, at the site of an Extinction Rebellion protest camp. EPA

Love is in the Bin at the Frieder Burda Museum in Baden-Baden, Germany. EPA

There is Always Hope. EPA

Season's Greetings (2018) was painted on a garage in Port Talbot, Wales. Getty

Part of the unauthorised exhibition entitled Banksy, Genius or Vandal? in Madrid, December 2018. EPA

A piece by Banksy, acquired by actor Robin Williams, was among auction items on display in Los Angeles, September 2018. EPA

A Brexit-inspired mural by Banksy in Dover, south-east England. EPA

A veiled woman in mourning beside the Bataclan concert venue in Paris where 90 people where killed by terrorists in November 2015. EPA

An artwork attributed to Banksy showing Napoleon's horse rearing, in Paris, June 2018. EPA

A mural depicting a rat on a popped champagne cork, in Paris, June 2018. EPA

A rat in the inner portion of a clock in New York City, March 2018. EPA

A Banksy mural highlights the imprisonment of Turkish artist and journalist Zehra Dogan, on the Bowery, New York City in February 2019. EPA

A Banksy painting appeared on the first day of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. EPA

Flying Copper on display in Berlin. EPA

The Bridge Farm Primary School where a new mural appeared during half term in Withchurch, England. The mural was a thanks to the school for naming a school wing after Banksy. EPA

The Son of a Migrant from Syria depicting Apple's Steve Jobs in the refugee camp called The Jungle in Calais, France. EPA

Dismaland, a temporary exhibition that opened at a derelict seafront lido in Weston-Super-Mare, England in 2015. Getty

Bomb Hugger after it was defaced in Hamburg, February 2015. EPA

Banksy appeared to comment on methods used by Britain's intelligence services with this piece in Cheltenham. EPA

The Twin Towers in Tribeca appeared in New York in 2013. EPA

A mural by Banksy in Queens, New York. EPA

Three years after Hurricane Katrina wrought havoc in the Gulf of Mexico, Banksy created some commemorative pieces in New Orleans, Louisiana. EPA

Another mural by Banksy in New Orleans. EPA

A Banksy in London, May 2008. EPA

A piece to mark Queen Elizabeth II's golden jubilee appeared on Clink Street, near London Bridge, in May 2002. EPA

The Bristol-born artist frequently uses his art to raise awareness of issues, including most recently of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

In December, the anonymous artist said he had created 50 screen-prints which would be sold to raise funds for a charity supporting the people of Ukraine.

Banksy previously confirmed he had spent time in Ukraine after posting a video of an artist spray-painting designs in the war-torn country and speaking to the locals.

Banksy's works in Ukraine — in pictures

Anonymous street artist Banksy has created seven works in Ukraine, including this image of a child in judo clothing throwing a man to the ground on a damaged building in Borodyanka. Getty

Another work on a destroyed building in Borodyanka, which was hard hit by Russian air strikes. AP

An artistic gymnast on a shelled building in Irpin. EPA

A spray-painted image of someone taking a bath inside a gutted building in the Ukrainian village of Horenka, near Kyiv. Reuters

Ukrainians have rushed to take pictures of the artworks. AP

A figure in a dressing gown holds a fire extinguisher and wears a gas mask in Hostomel near Antonov International Airport in Kyiv Region. Getty

A resident takes a picture of Banksy gymnast in Borodyanka. AFP

Street art of two children on blocks of concrete in Independence Square, Kyiv. Getty

Some of the images mirror Ukrainians' experience of the Russian invasion. Getty Images

One image appears to resemble the Greek mathematician Archimedes, who shouted 'Eureka!' while exploring the ideas of volume and mass after noticing how water is 'displaced' during a bath. PA

The artwork shows children playing. PA

A gymnast in a leotard and wearing a neck brace waves a ribbon on the wall of a destroyed building in Irpin. Getty