TWO MEN TO APPEAR AT KINGSTON CROWN COURT FOLLOWING THEFT OF A FAMOUS BANSKY
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Two men are due to appear at Kingston Crown Court next month charged with burglary after a famous Banksy artwork called Girl with Balloon and estimated to be worth £270.000 was stolen from a London gallery.
This follows an investigation by detectives from the Met’s Flying Squad.
The burglary took place at 11pm on Sunday night and was captured clearly by CCTV cameras
The well-known Banksy was the only piece stolen and was hanging close to the doorway.
Larry Fraser, 47 [12.11.76] of Evelyn Denington Road, Beckton, and James Love, 53 [9.10.70] of Elvin Drive, North Stifford, were charged on Thursday, 11 September, with non-residential burglary and remanded in police custody.
Both appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 12 September where they were bailed to next appear at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, 9 October.
The investigation was launched after a burglary at the Grove Gallery in New Cavendish Street, W1 at around 23:00hrs on Sunday, 8 September.
The painting was the only item stolen but has now been recovered and will be returned to the gallery and is expected to soar in value.
The gallery manager has said he was “horrified and petrified” after the artwork was stolen.
But Lindut Mehmetaj said he thought the piece may now have “skyrocketed” in value after being taken.
“It is quite hard to put into words what it feels like when someone has violated our gallery and stolen a piece of artwork.”
Mr Mehmetaj also noted that “historically” it can take years for disappeared artwork to be recovered, if at all.
He added that thanks to the Metropolitan Police this was not the case, and “it is so pleasing to see it again in the flesh again, so we are very lucky, but it is very unusual to have it recovered”.
Asked if he had spoken to Banksy about the theft, Mr Mehmetaj said: “No comment.”
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.
Stating that the theft has “just added a new dimension to this particular artwork”, he said: “Historically you do find that there are some fine art pieces that have gotten stolen and have been recovered.
“If you go back in history there are Da Vinci’s which are stolen and are in Paris now. Typically when fine art and masterpieces are stolen, the financial value can skyrocket. Hopefully, it is going to be the same for this Banksy, in my professional opinion.
“Prior the actual robbery, I would argue that the limited edition signed print by Banksy was valued at around £270,000.
“Fine art is quite subjective and it is all about the kind of eyes which get to see this artwork and the kind of demand for this artwork – whether it has doubled in value or tripled or quadrupled, we have to wait and see, but typically that is what occurs when art is stolen.”
The gallery has taken down all of its Banksys for safety and security and the recovered artwork will now “probably have to go into storage for security purposes”, according to Mr Mehmetaj.
He said that “full security” may now been needed at the gallery in future to step up protection of the artworks.
