A video shows the moment a famous Banksy was stolen from an art gallery in a brazen robbery by hooded thieves.
One of Banksy’s most iconic works, Girl with Balloon, was stolen from a London gallery on September 8.
The work, estimated to be worth up to £270,000, was stolen from the Grove Gallery after thieves smashed the glass doors and made off with the work.
Two men, identified as Larry Fraser, 47, and James Love, 53, have since been charged with the robbery, the Metropolitan Police said.
Now images show the moment a burglar broke into the gallery shortly before 11pm on Sunday.
CCTV footage from inside the Grove Gallery in London shows how a burglar broke into the gallery
Larry Fraser, 47, and James Love, 53, have been charged with theft after Banksy’s Girl with Balloon (pictured) was stolen from a London gallery on New Cavendish Street.
A thief forced his way through the entrance before heading straight for Banksy and leaving with him.
The thief then fled with the artwork and could be seen fleeing the scene.
CCTV footage from inside the gallery shows a hooded man dressed all in black using a large object as a makeshift battering ram to smash down the doors, which appear to be reinforced.
It took the alleged thief more than 30 hits to create a gap large enough to enter the building, before he walked in, headed straight for the Banksy and simply lifted it off the wall.
They then exited through the same hole and fled the scene.
The girl with the balloon was recovered following an investigation by detectives from the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad.
Fraser, from Beckton, East London, and Love, from North Stifford, Essex, were charged on Thursday 11 September with non-residential burglary and remanded in police custody.
They both appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 12 September, where they were released on bail to appear again at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday 9 October.
According to court documents, the pair allegedly entered the Grove Gallery as trespassers and stole the print ‘Girl with Balloon’ worth £270,000.
The alleged thief was only inside the gallery for a few seconds.
Officers inspect the damaged door outside the Grove Gallery in Fitzrovia, London
The work, estimated to be worth up to £200,000, is one of the street artist’s most iconic works.
It was taken during a robbery at Grove Gallery, on New Cavendish Street, on Sunday, which left the venue’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 front doors were smashed during the robbery.
A statement from the Metropolitan Police confirmed that Banksy’s Balloon Girl was the only item stolen and that it has now been recovered and will be returned to the gallery.
The work, which depicts a young woman with black graffiti who has just released a red heart-shaped balloon, is one of the street artist’s most recognizable pieces.
It was first seen on Waterloo’s South Bank in 2002, alongside the quote: “There is always hope”.
Girl with Balloon is a series of artworks, and the piece in the West London gallery is one of multiple versions.
Another version of the painting made headlines in 2018 when it partially self-destructed at the conclusion of an auction at which it had sold for £1.1 million.
The canvas was put through a secret shredder hidden inside the large frame, leaving the bottom half in tatters and only a lone red balloon on a white background in the frame.
The partially shredded piece, titled Love Is In The Bin, was sold for £18,582,000 in London by auction house Sotheby’s in October 2021.
This follows a wave of Banksy paintings that have been stolen or vandalised in recent months.
The balloon-wielding girl, seen in a wrapper marked “police evidence”, was recovered by detectives from the Metropolitan Police 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 Banksy work, an image of a lone wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham, mysteriously disappeared last month with images showing hooded men dismantling and removing the dish.
A mural, depicting two elephants sticking their heads out of a white window, appeared in Chelsea, London, last month but within a week was defaced with grey stripes.
Located in 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 vandalised with spray paint in August, while the artist’s lone wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham mysteriously disappeared.
A video has emerged showing the shocking moment the artwork was dismantled before being moved.
A group of hooded men wearing masks and gloves were seen climbing the building, removing the satellite dish and walking away.
A Banksy spokesman previously said the artist was not connected to or endorsed the theft of the wolf artwork and that they had “no knowledge of the current whereabouts of the plate”.