HE is the ultimate enigma: a world famous artist the identity of whom remains a mystery but whose illicitly produced street art sells for millions.

The British street artist Banksy is among the world’s most popular, his distinctive highly political stencilled creations now part of popular culture. For contemporary art lovers, the opportunity of owning an original work by the anonymous Bristolian creator is cause for huge excitement. Tomorrow, however, a screen print of his image of a rat holding a placard saying ‘Welcome to Hell’ is up for auction at Mallams in Oxford, and is expected to sell for anything from £25,000 to £35,000.

The artist said of his vermin portrait: “They exist without permission. They are hated, hunted and persecuted. They live in quiet desperation amongst the filth. And yet they are capable of bringing entire civilizations to their knees.

“If you are dirty, insignificant, and unloved then rats are the ultimate role model.”

Created in 2005, ‘Welcome To Hell’ is a one of 175 screen prints of the same design. It is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the artist’s amusingly named Pest Control Office.

The high estimate is a result of the work’s rarity and desirability. And while the price appears steep, it is a snip compared to the eye-watering sum raised by his controversial partially-shredded ‘Love Is In The Bin’, which sold for more than £18.5m at Sotheby’s in London in October

Max Fisher, Head of Design & Post-War British Art at Mallams, in St Michael’s Street, said: “Banksy is arguably the most famous artist in the world today. To be offering his work at our Modern Art sale here in Oxford is a real coup for Mallams.”Oxford Mail:

Picture by Ed Nix

He added: “Banksy commands such prices as his work is recognised all over the globe and he is synonymous with street art.

“The work is from a series Banksy did in 2004 with rats holding up different messages.

“The violent written messages are in stark contrast to the peace signs hanging from the rats’ necks. And the stencilling is instantly recognisable as Banksy.”

At the weekend Banksy offered to raise millions of pounds to boost a bid to transform a prison which once held Oscar Wilde into an arts centre. Campaigners hope the move will prevent the Grade-II listed HMP Reading from being sold to housing developers.

The artist hopes to transform the Berkshire prison into a “refuge for art” with a possible £10m from the sale of a stencil used for the artwork he painted on the side of the prison in March. The mural depicted a figure, considered to be Wilde, abseiling from the perimeter wall from bedsheets with a typewriter.

Oxford Mail:

Banksy said: “I had very little interest in Reading until I was on a rail replacement bus service that went past the jail. It’s rare to find an uninterrupted 500m-long paintable surface slap bang in the middle of a town – I literally clambered over the passenger next to me to get a closer look.

“I promised myself I’d paint the wall even before I knew what it was. I’m passionate about it now, though.

“Oscar Wilde is the patron saint of smashing two contrasting ideas together to create magic. Converting the place that destroyed him into a refuge for art feels so perfect we have to do it.”

The stencil went on display at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery earlier this month as part of an exhibition by the artist Grayson Perry for his Channel 4 series Grayson’s Art Club.

Wilde was held at the prison, formerly known as Reading Gaol, between 1895 to 1897 after being convicted of gross indecency when his homosexual affair with Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas was exposed.

While incarcerated, Wilde wrote De Profundis, his letter to his former lover and, after his release, recounted his time there in The Ballad Of Reading Gaol.

The jail was built on the site of the medieval Reading Abbey, a monastery founded by Henry I – son of William the Conqueror.

Henry is believed to have been buried under the altar, now thought to be under the prison car park or walls