Banksy work stolen from London gallery – two men charged

“Girl with Balloon”
Banksy work stolen from gallery in London – two men charged

One of the most famous motifs by British street artist Banksy is said to have been stolen from a gallery in London. A few days later, London police arrested two suspects.

“Girl With Balloon” shows a girl with a heart-shaped balloon. According to court documents, the painting is worth the equivalent of around 320,000 euros. It was stolen during the break-in on Sunday evening, the Metropolitan Police said. The work was the only item stolen. It has been secured and will be returned to the gallery.

The Queen in Art
Banksy, Warhol and Lucian Freud: How artists saw the Queen

18.09.2022

An official investigation has been launched against the two men, aged 47 and 53, for burglary, the Metropolitan Police announced on Friday. They have already been brought before a magistrate and their next hearing has been scheduled for October 9. They were initially released on bail conditions.

Banksy recently transformed London into a zoo

Banksy's identity is not known – only that he comes from Bristol in western England. The street artist recently caused a stir by publishing typical spray graffiti of animal motifs in various places in London for nine days in a row. One of the works – a big cat in a satellite dish – was stolen, and some of the other works were moved to other locations for security reasons.

The Brit is considered one of the most expensive artists of our time. His works are sold for millions, including “Girl With Balloon”. Another example of this motif fetched around 1.2 million euros at an auction in 2018.

But in a spectacular move, the work was cut into strips immediately after the auction by a shredder that had been built into the frame without anyone noticing. But the hype was so great that the new version – called “Love is in the bin” – was auctioned a few years later for many times the price, the equivalent of around 20 million euros.

cl
DPA
AFP