LONDON (AP) 鈥� Two men have been charged with burglary over the theft of an artwork by from a London gallery, police said Friday.
The Metropolitan Police force said Larry Fraser, 47, and James Love, 53, are alleged to have taken 鈥淕irl with Balloon鈥� from the Grove Gallery on Sunday night.
The suspects appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates鈥� Court on Thursday and were ordered detained until their next hearing on Oct. 9.
Police say they have recovered the work, which is valued in court documents at 270,000 pounds ($355,000).
The stolen work is one of several versions of 鈥淕irl with Balloon,鈥� a stenciled image of a child reaching for a heart-shaped red balloon. Originally stenciled on a wall in east London, the picture has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy鈥檚 best-known images.
Another version during a 2018 auction, passing through a shredder hidden in its frame just after it was purchased for 1.1 million pounds ($1.4 million) at Sotheby鈥檚.
The self-shredded work, retitled 鈥淟ove is in the Bin,鈥� ($25.4 million at the time) in 2021.
Bansky, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world鈥檚 best-known artists. His include two policemen kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words, 鈥淟augh now, but one day I鈥檒l be in charge.鈥�
His paintings and installations and have drawn and .
This summer a series of showed up around London. One of them, a howling wolf on a satellite dish, was removed by a masked man less than an hour after it was confirmed as authentic. An image of a gorilla at London Zoo and piranhas in a police sentry box in London鈥檚 financial district were both removed by the authorities for safekeeping.
The Associated Press
