A 54-year-old builder is on trial for allegedly stealing a valuable Banksy print worth $270,000 to add to his personal collection of love heart-themed artwork. James Love is accused of orchestrating the theft of "Girl with Balloon," a limited edition print that was stolen from the Grove Gallery in central London's Fitzrovia district in September of last year.
According to testimony at Kingston Crown Court, Love wanted the famous Banksy artwork "on his walls" and worked with an accomplice to carry out the heist. The prosecution revealed that Love's co-conspirator, 48-year-old Larry Fraser, has already pleaded guilty to burglary charges for his role in smashing through the gallery doors and physically taking the print.
Prosecution barrister Philip Stott painted a picture of two men from vastly different financial backgrounds working together on the crime. He described Love as a "relatively successful builder" while characterizing Fraser as "impoverished," noting that Fraser had only $1.75 in his bank account the day before the theft occurred. Significantly, court records show that Love transferred $200 to Fraser on the same day the crime was committed.
The prosecution presented detailed evidence about the evening of the theft, including cell phone data showing both men were in the vicinity of the Grove Gallery on New Cavendish Street when the crime occurred. Fraser reportedly called Love just minutes after smashing through the gallery doors and stealing the valuable print, suggesting coordination between the two men.
After leaving the gallery with the stolen artwork, Fraser took the print to a nearby building where he temporarily stashed it and changed his clothing. A night watchman at the building was "startled" to discover the "large painting" by an interior doorway, having "no idea how it had got there because it hadn't been there when he walked past the same spot earlier that evening," according to Stott's testimony.
The prosecution alleges that the two men then pushed past the night watchman, retrieved the artwork, and drove to an apartment building in the Isle of Dogs area of London, where Love unloaded the stolen Banksy print. The Metropolitan Police were eventually able to recover the limited edition work when Love himself told them where to find it.
A key element of the prosecution's case centers on Love's existing art collection and his apparent obsession with love heart imagery. Stott told the jury that investigators found "a relatively large number of pictures, about four, featuring love hearts" displayed on the walls of Love's home. The prosecutor argued that the stolen Banksy was "consistent with those others" in Love's collection.
"Given that it was Mr. Love who had multiple pieces of art based on love hearts already on his walls, it was likely stolen with a view to it eventually, when the heat had died down, ending up in the same place," Stott explained to the jury, suggesting that Love planned to eventually display the stolen artwork alongside his other love heart-themed pieces.
Love, who lives in North Stifford, Grays, Essex, has entered a not guilty plea to the burglary charges. The trial is ongoing at Kingston Crown Court, with the jury expected to hear additional evidence about the sophisticated art theft and the relationship between the two alleged co-conspirators. The case highlights the continuing appeal and high market value of Banksy's work, which has made the mysterious street artist's pieces frequent targets for theft from galleries and public spaces around the world.
