Aguilera invests £25,000 in Banksy

Banksy, the urban artist famed for his graffiti and subversive stunts in museums and galleries, has moved firmly into the mainstream after some of his works were bought by the American pop star Christina Aguilera.

Aguilera paid £25,000 for three of the works during a recent trip to London. She had a private viewing at the Soho gallery where he is exhibited and bought one original and two prints, including a pornographic picture of Queen Victoria in a lesbian pose with a prostitute.

"She knows all about Banksy and knew what she was looking for," said Steve Lazarides, owner of the Lazarides Gallery.

A friend said she would hang the Queen Victoria picture in her living room. "She's been a huge fan of Banksy for months and was desperate to get her hands on some of his artwork."

Banksy is famous for graffiti art and for designing a Blur album cover. The artist, whose real name is thought to be Robert Banks, is becoming well-known in the US.He sneaked into four New York galleries and attached his works alongside other paintings and has daubed graffiti over buildings in Los Angeles, where Aguilera lives. His profile was raised last year when he was the focus of a six-page article in an Esquire edition dedicated to "geniuses".