This article was originally published in English
The stolen work is one of several versions of ‘Girl with Balloon’, a stenciled image of a girl holding a red heart-shaped balloon.
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Two men have been charged with burglary for the theft of a work by street artist Banksy in a robbery at a London gallery.
London’s Metropolitan Police have reported that Larry Fraser, 47, and James Love, 53, were the suspected perpetrators of the Theft of the work ‘Girl with Balloon’ at the Grove Gallery on Sunday night.
The suspects appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and were ordered remanded in custody until their next hearing on October 9.
CCTV footage showed a masked man smashing a glass door before running inside and taking the painting from a wall.
Police reported that they had recovered the work, valued in court documents at £270,000 (€319,000).Nothing else has been reported stolen.
The stolen work is one of several versions of ‘Girl with Balloon’, a silkscreened image of a girl holding a red heart-shaped balloon. The image, originally stencilled on a wall in east London, has been reproduced endlessly, becoming one of Banksy’s best-known images.
Another version partially self-destructed during an auction in 2018, passing through a shredder hidden in its frame just after being acquired by 1.1 million pounds (1.3 million euros) en Sotheby’s.
The self-destructed work, retitled ‘Love is in the Bin’, sold for £18.6m (€22m) in 2021.
Gallery director Lindor Mehmetaj said he was “horrified and petrified” by the theft and grateful to have recovered the painting.
But he said the incident would have a positive impact on the value of the artwork.
Banksy: Mysterious artist who brings life to walls around the world
Bansky, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol and has become one of the world’s best-known artists.
Among its mischievous and often satirical images It features two police officers kissing, riot police armed with yellow smiley faces, and a chimpanzee holding a sign that reads: “Laugh now, but one day I’ll rule.”
His paintings and installations sell for millions at auctions, have filled the city with animals and have often been the target of thieves and vandals.
