"A builder accused of stealing a 270,000 Girl with Balloon Banksy print wanted to add the work to his existing collection of artwork featuring love hearts, a court has heard. James Love, 54, who hid the work after another man had smashed through the door of a gallery, owned a large number of love heart-based pictures and wanted the Banksy on his walls, jurors were told."
"The limited edition print, part of an exhibition showcasing a 1.5 million collection of 13 different Banksy pieces at the Grove Gallery in central London, was taken in September last year, but quickly recovered by officers from the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad. The court heard Love was just a few feet from the print the morning before the theft while making a delivery in his van."
James Love, 54, is accused of stealing a £270,000 Girl with Balloon Banksy print and hiding it after an accomplice smashed through the gallery door. The limited edition print formed part of a 13-piece Banksy exhibition valued at £1.5 million at the Grove Gallery in central London. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad quickly recovered the work after the theft in September. Prosecutors say Love was near the gallery earlier that day, drove another man to the Fitzrovia-based gallery, and helped stash the print in a nearby property's hallway. The thieves later returned, bypassed a night watchman, and removed the print; Larry Fraser has pleaded guilty to burglary.
Read at www.standard.co.uk
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]