Did famed artist Banksy make his mark on Montgomery?

A depiction of Martin Luther King Jr. recently painted on the side of an abandoned downtown Montgomery building has some thinking the city may have been visited by world-famous graffiti artist Banksy.

Several local art enthusiasts believe the internationally known British artist came to town the night of March 24 and put his mark on the rough brick facade of 30 Perry St. at South Perry Street and Washington Avenue. Banksy is an elusive and unidentified graffiti artist who creates political and sometimes controversial pieces using a distinctive stenciling technique. His work has been featured on streets, walls and bridges across the globe.

The black, spray-painted stencil art of Martin Luther King Jr. appears to be in the style of Banksy's work. The mural depicts King inside a woven dream-catcher with a yellow crown on top. King is pulling apart his shirt to reveal a red "X" over his heart. At the bottom right, there are two boxes, one with "50" inside and the other with two open hands holding what appears to be a broken heart.

The mural is discreet, but can easily be seen at street-level.

Carolyn Wright, who heard about the mural from her friend on Facebook, rushed downtown Tuesday morning to see it for herself. She spent most of the morning taking pictures. Wright is a fan of Banksy's work.

"This is definitely Banky's style," said Wright, who said she has studied all his pieces. "He does stenciling. He'll pick a building just like this, on the side of it, and paint in black and white with just a little bit of color. ... He was probably scouting around for a while before he picked this spot. This is the perfect spot. It's brick and it's old. Everything about it screams Banksy."

If it's not Banksy, it's a very good imitator, and that is making others wonder if it's someone closer to home.

Elusiveness and secrecy surround street artists. Most who fancy the style do not readily admit to it, considering it is illegal to paint on private property.

Richard Cecil Hagans, or R.C., is a known street artist from the Opelika area who has been to Montgomery on occasion, he said. Whether he's done street art here, and in particular "I have a dream-catcher," is another story.

"My style of artwork happens to be well-rooted in street art and anything really I can get my hands on," R.C. said. "Cut paper, aerosol and stencil are my area of expertise, but I do a lot of oil, acrylic, sculpture, print making, silk screening and martial arts."

When asked if he painted the MLK piece, R.C. simply said it would be incriminating if he admitted to the work.

R.C. began studying art at Auburn University, stopped going to school and now sells his artwork on his website, rchagans.com

Employees of Stamp Idea Group on Washington said they watched a man in his mid-20s paint the mural the afternoon the Selma-to-Montgomery March ended, March 25, between 1 and 3 p.m. They, noticed the initials "R.C." were inscribed on the ladder the artist was using and believe R.C. painted other murals in the car garage next door to 30 Perry St.

Kathy King and Richard McPherson, who both work downtown, said they were talking the day of the march when a young man, covered in paint-splattered clothes, approached them in the afternoon, looking for a place to paint his mural.

"This man walked up to us and asked us what business owners he could talk to for permission to paint his mural," King said. "He showed us a picture of the mural he wanted to paint on his phone and it was just like the one on the wall now."

The young artist told them he was from the Auburn/Opelika area studying art.

"He talked for a while and wanted to get it done that day," King said. "He said he wanted to connect Martin Luther King Jr. with Native Americans."

Richard and King didn't believe the artist could have been Banksy. Neither does R.C.

"On a personal level, it wouldn't be Banksy," R.C. said. "I am familiar with his style. If it were him, it would be more controversial, pushing people's buttons a bit more. That is just a nice poignant almost political picture, but it's not his style."

R.C. said he got into stenciling because it is best adapted for street art for its quick process and less likelihood of getting caught, he said. He did admit his artwork is inspired by Andy Warhol, a pop artist, and Banksy.

If it is Banksy's work, it wouldn't be his first visit to Alabama. He painted a Ku Klux Klan member holding a noose around his neck on the side of a gas station in Gardendale. That mural was promptly painted over by the owner.

And, in the past week, Banksy painted a mural of a weeping woman in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on the door of a house destroyed last summer during fighting between Israel and Hamas.

People from around the world travel to see Banksy's work, and some collectors will pay thousands of dollars for one of his pieces.