But the council nine times it was simply getting rid of graffiti.

Anthony Lista uses city walls as a canvas.

His original straight out is worth as much as a small car up to $20,000.

Two weeks ago, he painted this mural in the heart of Perth in a laneway knew Milligan's Street.

But the city of Perth, Centre worker to paint over the artwork.

Obviously, you feel annoyed when something that you create is destroyed.

But I think the nature of straight up being what it is you come to expect that that's gonna happen.

The powers that be deciding the so called graffiti had to go.

Someone's dropped the ball a little bit with this one.

Ah, I don't know if there's much more that you could do to safeguard straight up because it's outside.

It's open to the public.

Dozens of murals feature throughout Perth in North Bridge.

There's whole websites and even walking tours dedicated to exploring them.

The city has refused to say why this particular street piece was covered up.

Other Perth artists same or respect, is needed for street art, just the thought to check if it's artwork or, you know, rather than just presuming it's vandalism and pining over.

Like famous street artist Banksy, Lister is known all over the world.

His pace is owned by stars like Hugh Jackman.

His even appeared in Vogue.

The artists Management says he's disappointed the work has gone but remains committed to building culture in urban spaces.