The 10 Most Famous Pieces of Street Art in the World

Street art emerged in 1960s Philadelphia, USA, fueled by the creative drive of pioneering artists like Cornbread and Cool Earl. Long dismissed as a lesser art form, this genre encompasses everything from wall tags and public transit murals to building-scale pieces. Though often unauthorized and transient—easy to paint over or remove—street art has nonetheless captured the imagination of countless creators and admirers. At its core, it seeks to make art accessible and visible to the masses, serving as a vehicle for profound messages that spark reflection. Today, some street artworks command million-dollar price tags and stand as celebrated masterpieces. Artsper highlights 10 of the most iconic street art pieces across the globe.

1. Banksy – The Little Girl with the Balloon

Banksy stands as the world’s most renowned street artist. This anonymous figure has been leaving his artistic mark across the globe for over 23 years, with his work defined above all by its ability to provoke thought. The British creator primarily uses spray paint and pre-cut stencils to craft his pieces. In 2002, he produced one of his most recognizable works, The Little Girl with the Balloon, in London. Depicting a small girl in a black dress releasing a balloon, the piece is accompanied by the tag “There is always hope”—Banksy’s reminder that resilience endures even in the darkest times. A defining moment came in 2018, when a silkscreen version of the work self-destructed seconds after the auctioneer’s gavel fell, sparking one of the biggest controversies in contemporary art.

2. Keith Haring – We the Youth. 

This American pop art pioneer is famous for his vivid, stylized character drawings. Keith Haring launched his career alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat, and in 1988, after being diagnosed with HIV, he resolved to channel his struggle into his art. His works tackle issues like drug abuse, AIDS, and social adversity head-on. In 1987, he created We the Youth, one of the earliest prominent murals of its kind, in Philadelphia. After months of searching for the ideal location, he painted the piece alongside 14 high school students. Situated in an underprivileged neighborhood, the mural was designed to inspire community growth and empowerment.

3. Combo – Coexist

Born to a Lebanese Christian father and Moroccan Muslim mother, Combo officially launched his artistic career in 2012. This socially engaged artist once crossed into the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to display his poster art. In 2015, he drew inspiration from a Polish logo designed by Piotr Mlodozeniec: the word “COEXIST.”

The Coexist piece integrates key religious symbols—the Islamic crescent, Jewish Star of David, and Christian cross—serving as a powerful call for tolerance and respect across faiths. In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, Combo brought his art to the streets of Paris. Tragically, he has faced violence while working on his pieces.

4. Shepard Fairey (Obey) – Marianne

A committed artist since 1993, American creator Shepard Fairey developed an early interest in street art. As a teen, he designed artwork for t-shirts and skateboards, and later drew inspiration from icons like Andy Warhol and Diego Rivera to create stickers that he plastered around his city. His sticker featuring wrestler André the Giant has been distributed over a million times—an effective way to build his reputation in the street art scene.

One of his most globally acclaimed works is a mural in Paris’ 13th arrondissement. Painted in the red, white, and blue of the French flag, it depicts Marianne—the personification of the French Republic—and was created in response to the 2015 terrorist attacks. The piece bears the motto: “Action speaks louder than words.”

5. D*Face – Love Won’t Tear Us Apart

Dean Stockton, known professionally as D*Face, is a British pop artist born in the early 1980s. He first began drawing characters on paper to combat boredom, and over time, this hobby evolved into a passion. He expanded to working across different mediums, starting with stickers, then moving to posters, and eventually scaling up to large-scale wall murals in Paris.

In 2017, he completed a street art fresco in Paris’ 13th arrondissement titled Love Won’t Tear Us Apart. The piece centers on a couple, with the man depicted with a skull face—symbolizing past relationships that linger in memory even after they’ve ended. Through this imagery, D*Face explores the enduring nature of love.

6. Bradley Theodore – Karl Lagerfeld & Anna Wintour

Hailing from the Caribbean, Bradley Theodore is known for painting fashion industry celebrities as vibrant, skeletal figures. He got his start creating street art on the streets of London before transitioning to canvas work to reach broader audiences, securing numerous high-profile collaborations along the way.

One of his most famous works, completed in New York in 2017, features two fashion icons facing off: Karl Lagerfeld on the right and Anna Wintour on the left. Both figures are instantly recognizable thanks to their iconic hairstyles, making the piece a striking homage to the fashion world.

7. Banksy – The Flower Thrower

Just one year after creating The Little Girl with the Balloon, Banksy produced another landmark stencil piece in 2003 on a wall in Jerusalem: The Flower Thrower. Designed to oppose war, condemn its atrocities, and advocate for peace, the work depicts an anonymous man hurling a bouquet of colorful flowers as if it were a Molotov cocktail.

According to reports, a local resident told Banksy at the time: “We don’t want this wall to be beautiful—we don’t want this wall at all. Go home.” This reaction underscored the piece’s provocative relationship with its context.

8. Pichi & Avo – Northwest Walls Festival Mural

These two Spanish artists have carved out a unique niche in the street art world by blending classical sculpture, modern painting, and urban art. They work across both indoor and outdoor mediums and have collaborated with internationally renowned creators like Portuguese artist Vhils.

Their career truly took off in 2015 with an impressive installation made using seven shipping containers, but their 2014 piece for Belgium’s Northwest Walls Festival also stands out. It merges ancient Greek sculptural aesthetics with bold graffiti styling, creating a distinctive visual dialogue between classical and contemporary art.

9. Eduardo Kobra – Etnias

Eduardo Kobra ranks among the world’s most famous muralists. A native of São Paulo, he has created large-scale works on walls in Spain, France, India, and beyond. In 2016, to coincide with the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, Kobra set a Guinness World Record for the largest mural ever painted with Etnias (Ethnicities).

Stretching 190 meters long and 15 meters high—covering a total of 3,000 square meters—the project required 1,000 cans of white paint, 1,500 liters of colored paint, 3,500 aerosol cans, and 40 days of intensive work. The mural features five faces of different ethnicities, representing the five Olympic rings and five continents. Through this piece, Kobra aimed to convey a powerful message: “We are all One: the human race.”

10. Bambi – Don’t Shoot

Closing our list is a work by Bambi, the famous anonymous British street artist born in the 1980s. Known as “the female Banksy,” she began creating graffiti in London’s streets and shares Banksy’s penchant for provocative, socially conscious stencils that denounce injustice. Her works often feature contemporary figures like Donald Trump and Amy Winehouse.

Her most iconic piece, Don’t Shoot, depicts five identical boys standing side by side with hands raised. Instead of the balloons that would typically be under their feet, there are skulls. In bold red letters, Bambi added the phrase “Don’t Shoot,” while the boys wear Nike t-shirts altered to read “Don’t Do It.” The piece, which drew criticism from Nike, was created to protest police brutality.