Two men charged over daring theft of Banksy’s iconic Girl With Balloon in London heist
£270K Banksy nabbed from central London gallery
Two men have been charged with burglary after stealing one of Banksy’s most famous artworks, Girl With Balloon, from the Grove Gallery on New Cavendish Street late Sunday night. The £270,000 print was snatched in a bold smash-and-grab that sparked a swift response from the Met Police Flying Squad.
Suspects named and charged
Police arrested Larry Fraser, 47, from Beckton, east London, and James Love, 53, from North Stifford, Essex. Both appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, charged with non-residential burglary. They were granted bail and will next face Kingston Crown Court on October 9.
“According to court documents, the pair entered the gallery as trespassers and made off with the only artwork on site: the Girl With Balloon print,” a police source confirmed.
Banksy’s beloved balloon print to be returned
The iconic image of a young girl reaching for a red heart-shaped balloon first appeared as a street mural in east London in 2002. It quickly became one of Banksy’s best-known works, with prints fetching huge sums at auction.
The print has now been recovered by police and will be safely returned to the Grove Gallery, ending the brief but intense police hunt.
Famous for the shredding stunt
The artwork’s huge cultural pull was highlighted back in 2018, when Girl With Balloon partially shredded itself via a hidden mechanism moments after selling for over £1 million at Sotheby’s London auction. Renamed Love Is in the Bin, the shredded piece later smashed records, selling for a staggering £18.5 million in 2021.
Police continue to investigate the daring burglary, but the swift recovery of the Banksy has brought relief to the art world and collectors alike.
