Moment Banksy’s ‘Girl with Balloon’ is ‘stolen in brazen artwork heist’
Video footage has shown the moment a famous Banksy was stolen from an art gallery in a brazen heist by hooded thieves.
One of Banksy‘s most iconic works, Girl with Balloon, was taken from a London gallery on September 8.
The work, with an estimated value of up to £270,000, was taken in a heist of Grove Gallery after thieves smashed their way through the glass doors and made off with the work.
Two men, named as with Larry Fraser, 47 , and James Love, 53, have since been charged over the theft, the Met Police has said.
Now footage shows the moment a thief smashed their way inside the gallery just before 11pm on Sunday.
CCTV footage from inside Grove Gallery, London, shows how a thief smashed their way inside
Larry Fraser, 47 , and James Love, 53, have been charged with burglary after Banksy’s Girl with Balloon (pictured) was stolen from a London gallery in New Cavendish Street
A thief smashed their way through the entrance before heading straight for the Banksy and leaving with it
The thief then made off with the artwork and could be seen running from the scene
CCTV footage from inside the gallery shows how a hooded man, dressed all in black, used a large object as a makeshift battering ram to break down the doors, which appear to be reinforced.
It took the alleged thief more than 30 blows to create a gap big enough to enter the building, before stepping inside, heading straight for the Banksy and simply lifting it off the wall.
They then left through the same hole and ran from the scene.
Girl with Balloon was recovered following a probe by detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad.
Fraser, of Beckton, East London, and Love, from North Stifford, Essex, were charged on Thursday, September 11, with non-residential burglary and remanded in Police Custody.
Both appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, September 12, where they were bailed to next appear at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, October 9.
According to court documents, the pair allegedly entered Grove Gallery as trespassers and stole ‘Girl with Balloon Print to the value of £270,000’.
The alleged thief was only inside the gallery for a matter of seconds
Officers inspect the damaged door outside Grove Gallery in Fitzrovia, London
The work, with an estimated value of up to £200,000, is one of the street artist’s most iconic
It was taken in a heist of Grove Gallery, in New Cavendish Street, on Sunday which left the site’s glass entrance smashed
The gallery had been hosting a Banksy exhibition, titled ‘Breakout: Banksy’s London Rebellion’, which ended on Saturday.
Girl with Balloon appeared alongside other notable Banksy pieces including Pulp Fiction and Monkey Queen.
Grove’s glass entrance doors were smashed in during the break-in.
The gallery’s CEO James Ryan said: ‘The swift action of the Flying Squad from the outset was incredible from start to finish, and I can’t thank them enough for every effort they have made.
‘To say this theft was devastating and heartbreaking is an understatement. The Banksy works were on display to pay homage to an incredible artist and to allow everyone to enjoy them. To witness such a brazen theft, carried out on foot, was just shocking.’
A Met Police statement confirmed Banksy’s Girl with Balloon was the only item stolen and it has now been recovered and will be returned to the gallery.
The work, depicting a young girl in black graffiti who has just let go of a red heart-shaped balloon, is one of the street artist’s most recognisable pieces.
It was first seen in Waterloo’s South Bank in 2002 next to the quotation: ‘There is always hope.’
Girl with Balloon is a series of artworks, with the piece at the west London gallery one of multiple versions.
Another version of the painting hit the headlines in 2018 when it partially self-destructed at the conclusion of an auction in which it had been sold for £1.1 million.
The canvas was passed through a secret shredder hidden inside the large frame, leaving the bottom half in tatters and only a solitary red balloon left on a white background in the frame.
The partially-shredded piece, entitled Love Is In The Bin, was sold for £18,582,000 in London by auction house Sotheby’s in October 2021.
It follows a spree of Banksy paintings being stolen or vandalised over the last few months.
Girl with Balloon, seen in a wrapping marked ‘police evidence’, was recovered by detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad and is set to be returned
Grove Gallery had been hosting a Banksy exhibition, titled ‘Breakout: Banksy’s London Rebellion’, which ended on Saturday
Girl with Balloon appeared alongside other notable Banksy pieces including Monkey Queen (print pictured)
Another of Banksy’s works, a picture of a lone wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham mysteriously disappeared last month with footage showing hooded men dismantle and remove the dish
One mural – which depicts two elephants poking their head out of white windows – popped up in Chelsea in London last month but was defaced with grey stripes after a week.
Located on Edith Grove, the painting marked the second of nine animal-themed artworks to appear in the capital by the elusive artist.
Banksy’s rhino mural in Charlton was also destroyed with spray paint in August, while the artist’s lone wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham mysteriously disappeared.
Footage emerged showing the shocking moment the artwork was dismantled before being carried away.
A group of hooded men wearing facemasks and gloves were spotted scaling the building, removing the satellite dish, and walking off.
A spokesperson for Banksy previously said the artist was neither connected to nor endorsed the theft of the wolf artwork and that they had ‘no knowledge as to the dish’s current whereabouts’.
