2 men charged with stealing a famous Banksy image from a London art gallery

A Banksy painting, Girl With Balloon, on display at the Grove Gallery in London after it was stolen on Sunday, then recovered and returned to the gallery, Friday Sept. 13, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)

LONDON, United Kingdom -

Two men have been charged with burglary over the theft of an artwork by street artist Banksy that was taken in a smash-and-grab raid on a London gallery.

The Metropolitan Police force said Friday that Larry Fraser, 47, and James Love, 53, are alleged to have taken “Girl with Balloon” from the Grove Gallery on Sunday night.

The suspects appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and were ordered detained until their next hearing on Oct. 9.

Surveillance camera footage showed a masked man smashing a glass door before dashing in and taking the picture from a wall. Police said they have recovered the work, which is valued in court documents at 270,000 pounds (US$355,000). Nothing else was reported stolen.

The stolen work is one of several versions of “Girl with Balloon,” a stenciled image of a child reaching for a heart-shaped red balloon. Originally stenciled on a wall in east London, the picture has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy’s best-known images.

Another version partially self-destructed during a 2018 auction, passing through a shredder hidden in its frame just after it was purchased for 1.1 million pounds (US$1.4 million) at Sotheby’s.

• Download the CTV News App for breaking news alerts and video on all the top stories

The self-shredded work, retitled “Love is in the Bin,” sold for 18.6 million pounds (US$25.4 million at the time) in 2021.

Gallery manager Lindor Mehmetaj said he was “horrified and petrified” by the theft and grateful to have the picture back.

“We are very lucky, but it is very unusual to have it recovered,” he said, adding that the crime may have increased the work's value.

“Typically when fine art and masterpieces are stolen, the financial value can skyrocket," Mehmetaj said. “Hopefully, it is going to be the same for this Banksy."

Bansky, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. His mischievous and often satirical images include two policemen kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words, “Laugh now, but one day I’ll be in charge.”

• Follow the CTV News channel on WhatsApp

His paintings and installations sell for millions of dollars at auction and have drawn thieves and vandals.

This summer a series of animal-themed stencils showed up around London. One of them, a howling wolf on a satellite dish, was removed by a masked man less than an hour after it was confirmed as authentic. An image of a gorilla at London Zoo and piranhas in a police sentry box in London’s financial district were both removed by the authorities for safekeeping.