Two charged with stealing famous Banksy image from London art gallery

(13 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
London, UK - 13 September 2024
1. Various of Banksy's artwork "Girl with Balloon" that was stolen on Sunday being displayed in the Grove Gallery after being returned
2. Close of Banksy's signature
3. Mid of artwork
4. Various of tapes saying police evidence around the artwork
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindor Mehmetaj, gallery manager for Grove Gallery:
"Never in our lives. I've never been in a circumstance of this nature. Prior, it was horrifying and quite petrifying to actually see your home and a place that you're very, very connected to, through fine arts, being violated. So not ideal, not practical, but you know, the main thing for myself is actually being able to see the masterpiece behind me once again back home in our gallery."
6. Mid of Mehmetaj being interviewed
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindor Mehmetaj, gallery manager for Grove Gallery:
"It's astonishing to have a completely new dimension to the artwork. I mean, as I said, we've got the Metropolitan Police seal the artwork. It was stolen. So it's a new story. And that typically does financially sort of, you know, really, really increase the value of masterpieces. So you know, what happens in the future? Who knows with the value. But typically, if you are to go in history, then if an artwork is stolen and if it is retrieved, it's usually quite, quite positive."
8. Pan from the floor to the artwork
9. Various of artwork
10. Exterior of the gallery
11. Close of gallery exhibition sign on window
12. Various of display being filmed
STORYLINE:
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 ($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 ($1.4 million) at Sotheby’s.
The self-shredded work, retitled “Love is in the Bin,” sold for 18.6 million pounds ($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.
Mehmetaj added the incident would have positive impact on the value of the artwork.
"We've got the Metropolitan Police seal the artwork. It was stolen. So it's a new story. And that typically does financially..increase the value of masterpieces," said Mehmetaj.
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 paintings and installations sell for millions of dollars at auction and have drawn thieves and vandals.
AP video shot by Kwiyeon Ha
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[@MICHAELBRYSON-b9v]

I guess this is why Nina sang of the 99 red luft balloons. Now there's 100

[@acarrot589]

It's a really lame work anyway