2 men charged with stealing a famous Banksy image from a London art gallery

LONDON (AP) — Two men have been charged with burglary over the theft of an artwork by street artist Banksy from a London gallery, police said Friday. The Metropolitan Police force said Larry Fraser, 47, and James Love, 53, are alleged to have taken “Girl with Balloon” from the Grove Gallery on Sunday night. The suspects appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ 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 “Girl with Balloon,” 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’s best-known images. Another version partially self-destructed 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’s. The self-shredded work, retitled “Love is in the Bin,” sold for 18.6 million pounds ($25.4 million at the time) in 2021. Bansky, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol,...