{"id":294523,"date":"2025-11-19T09:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T09:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/294523\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T09:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T09:22:09","slug":"banksy-was-stolen-from-my-gallery-london-is-not-safe-for-art-news-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/294523\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Banksy was stolen from my gallery – London is not safe for art’ | News UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The boss of a central London gallery has told Metro they have abandoned their Fitzrovia exhibition space after a \u00a3270,000 Banksy heist.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Girl with Balloon\u2019 print was stolen by Larry Fraser in September<\/a> last year and was returned to the Grove Gallery by the Met Police<\/a> four days later.<\/p>\n

The Grove\u2019s CEO James Ryan revealed the alarm failed to pick up the break-in, triggering false rumours and paranoia about it being an inside job.<\/p>\n

Speaking for the first time since a court sentenced Fraser to 13 months in jail for the burglary, the gallery boss warned other art houses in London that they were at risk of new high-profile raids.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"A
\n\t\tThe artwork was tracked down and returned four days later by the Met (Picture: PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Ryan, 36, told Metro: \u2018If my business is not going to be safe then I don\u2019t have much of a business. I just thought I\u2019ve had enough of this.<\/p>\n

\u2018We want to protect the art and the artists that we represent. The break in made us look at the vulnerability of the traditional way of running a gallery.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you\u2019ve got a gallery that has got some valuable stuff in it from big names then it\u2019s fair game for these people.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s going to take time for them to get caught. They might not ever get caught, might not even be investigated. Their mindset is \u201cWell, why wouldn\u2019t I?\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n

The CEO said he knows of other recent burglaries at galleries, with the security costs necessary for protecting artwork putting up the prices for businesses like his.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Gallery
\n\t\tJames Ryan said other galleries were \u2018100% at risk of burglaries in London\u2019 (Picture: Grove Gallery)<\/p>\n

Ryan, who said they have handed over their space to another gallery, declared: \u2018The High Street\u2019s dead for galleries. It\u2019s absolutely dead.<\/p>\n

\u2018What robbers are seeing is a price tag on a piece of art, and they\u2019ll think \u201cI can go get that\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n

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To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro’s London news hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018Insurance premiums are high and it\u2019s just not cost-effective to try and showcase well-known artists\u2019 artworks.\u2019<\/p>\n

The art house stayed open for another 12 months after the initial heist the thief used a hammer to force entry through the glass doors before making off with the Banksy.<\/p>\n

However Ryan said he only found out about the heist on the Monday morning due to a failure with the alarm.<\/p>\n

He continued: \u2018The manager called me and I thought he was winding me up. <\/p>\n

\u2018I looked on the camera and I could see the smashed door and I could see that the painting wasn\u2019t there. I couldn\u2019t understand why the alarm hadn\u2019t gone off.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Mandatory
\n\t\tThe Grove has left their Fitzrovia exhibition space (Picture: Mark Thomas\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

Instead of triggering an alert to the gallery\u2019s security, who would have called the police, the alarm system tripped before the crucial break-in.<\/p>\n

This malfunction left the CEO terrified he\u2019d lose thousands in insurance coverage and triggered a wave of paranoia about whether it had been an inside job.<\/p>\n

Ryan added: \u2018We feared the insurance company wouldn\u2019t pay out because our alarm tripped. <\/p>\n

\u2018There were a couple of sleepless nights over this. But as it got returned, there wasn\u2019t a claim.<\/p>\n

\u2018My initial fear was it was like an inside job. You start questioning the people around you. It starts to set off the paranoia. The rumours of an inside job unsettled people.\u2019<\/p>\n

What ultimately quashed fears of insurance losses and any rumours of an inside informant was the Met police charging two individuals for the burglary.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Police
\n\t\tLarry Fraser was jailed for 13 months at Kingston Crown Court (Picture: PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Fraser, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of non-residential burglary and said he owed money because of a historic drug debt, which he was struggling to settle.<\/p>\n

A second defendant, James Love, 54, was found not guilty of non-residential burglary after a trial in September.<\/p>\n

The priceless Banksy was ultimately tracked down by the Met\u2019s \u2018superb\u2019 Flying Squad to a location just several streets away.<\/p>\n

Fraser was caught on CCTV loading the artwork into a van before fleeing and he was arrested just three days later.<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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