The stolen artwork is one of several versions of “Girl with Balloon,” a stenciled image of a little girl in a dress reaching for a red heart-shaped balloon.
Two men have been charged with burglary over the theft of an artwork by street artist Banksy, which was stolen during a raid on a London gallery.
The Metropolitan Police said Larry Fraser, 47, and James Love, 53, are suspected of stealing ‘Girl with Balloon’ from the Grove Gallery on Sunday night.
The suspects appeared at Wimbledon Crown Court on Thursday and were remanded in custody until their next hearing on October 9.
Surveillance camera footage showed a masked man smashing a glass door before rushing inside and taking the painting from a wall.
Police said they had recovered the work, valued in court documents at £270,000 ($340,000). Nothing else was reported stolen.
The stolen artwork is one of several versions of “Girl with Balloon,” a stenciled image of a child catching a red heart-shaped balloon.
Originally stenciled onto a wall in east London, the image has been reproduced endlessly, becoming one of Banksy’s best-known images.
In 2018, the shredding of the “Girl with a Balloon” in the middle of an auction was organized by Banksy himself, at the time it was to be sold for 870,000 euros. A gesture to denounce the “commodification” of art. This replica renamed “Love is in the Blin” ultimately became a work later sold for 16 million pounds.
Gallery director Lindor Mehmetaj said: “horrified and petrified” by the theft and grateful to have recovered the painting.
He said, however, that the incident would have a positive impact on the value of the artwork.
“The Metropolitan Police sealed the work. It was stolen. So that’s a new story. And that usually has a financial effect… which increases the value of masterpieces.”he said.
Bansky, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol and became one of the world’s best-known artists.
His playful and often satirical images include two police officers kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces, and a chimpanzee holding a placard reading “Laugh now, but one day I will be in charge.”
His paintings and installations sell for millions at auction and have often been the targets of thieves and vandals.
