Two individuals have been accused of burglary following the theft of one of Banksy’s most celebrated pieces from a gallery in the heart of London. The famous artwork known as Girl With Balloon has since been retrieved after an investigation conducted by the Metropolitan Police.
The accused, Larry Fraser (47) from Beckton, East London, and James Love (53) from North Stifford, Essex, were detained on non-residential burglary charges and are currently in custody. Investigations commenced when a print of Girl With Balloon, the only piece missing, was stolen from a gallery on New Cavendish Street around 11pm on Sunday. The art piece is set to be returned to the gallery.
Court records state that the duo allegedly trespassed into Grove Gallery and walked off with the “Girl With Balloon” print, worth £270,000. They were later granted bail at the Wimbledon Magistrates Court on Thursday, and are due to appear at the Kingston Crown Court on the 9th of October.
From 2002, Banksy started to stencil images of a young girl reaching for a heart-shaped red balloon across London. The artwork first made its appearance on an east London wall and was also stencilled beneath Waterloo Bridge. Limited edition prints and hand-sprayed variants were made available, many of which command high prices at auction.
In a memorable event in 2018, an encased edition of the artwork sold for over £1m, then proceeded to self-destruct live on stage. Upon the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer, alarms blared and the canvas slipped through a secret shredder crafted into the lower portion of the elaborate frame.
The successful bidder opted to keep the partly shredded artwork, which was subsequently re-titled Love Is in the Bin. Three years later, the piece set a new record, selling for £18.5m at Sotheby’s in London.