Gallery manager ‘horrified’ by theft of Banksy artwork

A gallery manager has said he was “horrified and petrified” after a Banksy artwork was stolen from his central London venue.

The £270,000 print, called Girl with Balloon and numbered 72 of 150, may now have “skyrocketed” in value after being taken from the Grove Gallery on Sunday but also quickly recovered by the Metropolitan Police, according to gallery manager Lindor Mehmetaj.

Two men have been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with burglary.

The artwork, described by Mr Mehmetaj as “iconic”, was part of a exhibition showcasing a £1.5 million collection of Banksy pieces.

Police said it was the only item stolen and it has now been recovered and will be returned to the gallery. On Friday, Mr Mehmetaj said: “I noticed at the gallery front door, the window was totally smashed and there was loads of glass everywhere.

“Unfortunately, when I came closer to the gallery I noticed that one of our iconic Banksy pieces had been stolen.”

He said he was “horrified and petrified” when he realised it had been taken, adding: “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.

Mr Mehmetaj said the fact that the gallery’s version of the artwork has been stolen and recovered is now part of its story and may have added some value to it.

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.

The artwork was recovered on Thursday afternoon.

Gallery chief executive James Ryan said: “To say this theft was devastating and heartbreaking is an understatement.”

Larry Fraser, 47, and James Love, 53, were charged with non-residential burglary and remanded in police custody.

An investigation was launched after a burglary at the gallery in New Cavendish Street at around 11pm on Sunday.

Fraser, of Evelyn Denington Road, Beckton, east London, and Love, of Elvin Drive, North Stifford, appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where they were bailed ahead of appearing at Kingston Crown Court on October 9.

According to court documents, the pair allegedly entered Grove Gallery as trespassers and stole the “Girl With Balloon print to the value of £270,000”.

A representative for Banksy declined to comment.

Earlier this summer, several pieces in Banksy’s animal-themed series were moved for safekeeping, with one defaced just hours after it went up.

Banksy’s silhouette of a howling wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham was taken less than an hour after it was confirmed as authentic.

Another piece in his collection, a silhouette of a rhino, was defaced by a man wearing a black balaclava just hours after it went up.

His piece at London Zoo, which shows a gorilla lifting up a shutter and allowing a number of birds and a seal to escape, was removed for “safekeeping” and replaced with a replica in August.

Banksy’s artwork of piranhas in a police sentry box was moved temporarily to Guildhall Yard to keep it safe, the City of London Corporation announced, after the piece appeared on Ludgate Hill.