Thieves smash into gallery to steal Banksy’s Girl With Balloon

Two men charged with burglary after stencil mural was taken from the Grove Gallery in central London on Sept 8

Video footage has shown the moment a man smashes his way into a gallery before escaping seconds later with one of Banksy’s most famous works of art.
The piece, called Girl With Balloon, depicts a young girl reaching out towards a red, heart-shaped balloon and is worth £270,000 according to court documents.
A shredded version of the painting was sold for $25 million (£19 million) in October 2021. However, an unsigned screenprint is said to be worth £90,000, according to MyArtBroker.
Larry Fraser, 47, from Beckton, east London, and James Love, 53, from North Stifford, Essex, have been charged with burglary after the piece was taken from the Grove Gallery at around 11pm on Sept 8.
CCTV shows a hooded person smashing through a glass door before entering the building and taking the picture from the wall.
The charges follow an investigation by detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad after the burglary took place at the gallery in New Cavendish Street, Westminster.
The artwork has since been recovered and will be returned to the gallery, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
Fraser and Love were charged with non-residential burglary on Tuesday in relation to the incident and remanded in custody.
They appeared at Wimbledon magistrates’ court the following day where they were granted bail and are due to appear at Kingston Crown Court on Oct 9.
Banksy’s work, known for its social commentary artworks and subversive style, has had many of his pieces stolen previously.
Last month a new piece by the artist was taken within an hour of being revealed.
The stencil of a howling wolf on a satellite dish in Rye Lane, Peckham, was taken by masked me shortly after Banksy confirmed the artwork was his own on his official Instagram.
In December, another Banksy piece in Peckham was stolen shortly after being unveiled.
The installation – three aircraft resembling military drones on a stop sign – was removed by a man with bolt cutters.
Lindor Mehmetaj, senior art consultant at the gallery, said he arrived on Monday morning to find the door had been smashed and the painting nearest the entrance missing.
The robbery took place on Sunday, the day after a two-and-a-half-week exhibition Breakout: Banksy’s London Rebellion had ended.
“On Monday morning I was coming to the gallery for a normal day in the office as usual, following a business trip when I realised the front door had been completely smashed,” Mr Mehmetaj told The Telegraph.
“We had been robbed. We had a £1.5 million collection of Banksy’s masterpieces – limited-edition signed prints, originals. You know, it was a fantastic show that we had in the last two, three weeks and it was absolute chaos to see that we have been robbed.
“I was petrified to see a lot of glass everywhere, a lot of people staring, other artwork still in the gallery, just unfortunately, a gallery that had been subjected to some crime.
“As soon as you come into the gallery you have the Girl With Balloon, one of Banksy’s most iconic pieces, the original sold for £18 million was shredded at Sotheby’s.
“We had a limited-edition signed print that holds a value of up to £300,000.”
The most valuable artwork was a £500,000 test spray of Banksy’s Rat With Sunglasses.
Officers were not called until 10 hours after the robbery when Mr Mehmetaj made the “horrifying” discovery.
He said: “Nobody had reported it to the police.
“It was nine o’clock in the morning. Whether it was targeted or not I don’t know but obviously the reputation we have as the gallery to showcase masterpieces is fantastic. Unfortunately it can be a double-edged sword.”
The print is currently on an easel at the gallery covered in its police evidence bag and will be placed under “24/7 security” and sent back to a storage facility.
Mr Mehmetaj said he “believed an alarm did go off” but the gallery would now be getting shutters.