Swiss embassy in London houses ‘priceless’ Banksy collection

Works by Banksy can be found in the car park of the Swiss Embassy in London. RTS

For 25 years, around 15 works by the elusive British street artist Banksy have adorned the walls of the underground car park at the Swiss embassy in London. The collection, kept largely out of public view, is believed to be the most concentrated group of Banksy murals in a single location.

At the official residence of the Swiss ambassador to the Court of St James’s, Switzerland presents itself in refined fashion. Chandeliers, monumental tapestries by Le Corbusier and works by Max Bill welcome parliamentarians and visiting delegations hosted by Ambassador Dominique Paravicini.

Beneath the residence lies a very different setting. The embassy garage is covered in brightly coloured street art. Around 50 works decorate its walls and pillars – 16 of them attributed to Banksy.

When Paravicini took up his post, he was struck by the contrast. “I was surprised by all the colours in this garage,” he told Swiss public broadcaster RTS. “It’s an incredible asset for our work as ambassadors. It’s something we must protect. And it symbolises collaboration between British and Swiss artists.”

For almost a quarter of a century, the embassy has kept the collection discreet. “We have to find a balance between a place of work and an exhibition space,” Paravicini said. “This garage can never be public. You talk about discretion; we talk about ‘Swiss elegance’.”

Banksy, in the car park of the Swiss Embassy in London. RTS

His favourite piece? A Banksy inscription reading “This is not a photo opportunity”, painted beneath a surveillance camera. “I love the irony,” he said.

Art-world interest

Isobel Muir, a curator at Tate who has catalogued the works, says such a concentration of major street art is rare. “We have never seen so many works by leading artists in one place,” she said. “Here we can see the genesis of ideas that later became world-famous.”

Some murals show early examples of visual codes now closely associated with Banksy, including the use of stencil techniques and the Courier New font.

Banksy’s “Vulture Capitalists” at the Swiss Embassy in London RTS

Muir believes the collection is effectively priceless. “Few governments would dare to undertake a project like this today,” she said. The works cannot simply be removed and sold. “They are intrinsically linked to the site. Their meaning depends on this space.”

One striking example is a large mural titled Vulture Capitalists, depicting 21 Warhol-style portraits of Lenin dressed as a punk. The title plays on the term “venture capitalists”. According to Muir, the work reflects the artists’ awareness that their freedom to create in this setting depended on official permission.

From vandalism to collector’s item

Dave Stuart, who runs Shoreditch Street Art Tours, calls the embassy’s collection “the best in the world”. He notes that Banksy works are rare partly because of their market value: some are stolen, others destroyed or defaced. “Often owners cover them up once their authenticity is confirmed, to protect their investment,” he said.

In the early 2000s, however, street art was widely regarded as vandalism. “Back then it was just graffiti – and that was a crime,” Stuart said. “Today it is traded and collected. Banksy has played a major role in that shift.”

An initiative in 2001

The story began in 2000, when Wolfgang Amadeus Brülhart, then cultural attaché at the embassy, proposed opening the garage to graffiti artists for seven nights. The project culminated in a public event at the end of January 2001.

A tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Brülhart (WAB) is graffitied on one of the car park pillars. RTS

“There was a lot of discussion and many were against it,” Brülhart recalls. “But the ambassador at the time made a courageous decision.”

The conditions were strict: the artists would work at night, no illegal activity would be tolerated, and Brülhart would supervise the project. “There were six or seven graffiti artists, incognito. I do not know which one was Banksy,” he said.

William Tell by artists Snug, CHU and Banksy, in the car park of the Swiss Embassy in London. RTS

One of the participating artists, known as CHU, remembers the week vividly. “It was one of the first times I could work without the risk of being chased away,” he said. “You had time to develop ideas. And it was probably the safest place in London.”

Looking back after 25 years, he says seeing the works again is emotional. “It’s been a secret for so long. Seeing them again – it’s like meeting an ex-girlfriend.”

Translated from French using AI/amva/ts

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