Banksy print worth $45K stolen from Toronto art exhibit, by caruso on Jun 15, 2018 22:39:04 GMT 1, Banksy print worth $45K stolen from Toronto art exhibit

A Banksy print worth $45,000 was stolen from an unsanctioned art exhibit in Toronto this week, according to police.



Surveillance video released Thursday shows a man swiping the highly prized piece — dubbed “Trolley Hunters” — from a gallery in the city’s West End last weekend.



Cops say the man sneaked inside early Sunday while no one was there, using an “interior door of the premises to gain entry.” He can be seen walking around the empty gallery and looking around for people, while rocking a baseball cap and sweatshirt over his face in a bid to conceal his identity.



With no sign of security guards, the man brazenly scoops up the Banksy print and scurries off — using the same door he came in through to escape. Police described him as wearing glasses, blue jeans rolled at the cuff, and gray running shoes.



The gallery where the theft occurred was slated to launch an unsanctioned, $35 million Banksy exhibit this week featuring 80 of his pieces. The show was curated by Steve Lazarides, the Brit’s former agent and collaborator, though Banksy himself was not actually involved.



Lazarides worked with the elusive street artist from 1997 to 2008, according to reports.



They eventually went their separate ways and refused to stay in contact with one another. Lazarides has admitted several times that Banksy is likely not a fan of the month-long exhibition.



“I’d imagine he’s annoyed in the fact that it’s not him that’s controlling it,” Lazarides told the Toronto Sun last week. “He’s not sanctioned it, I’ve not asked him, but I think he belongs to the general public and the general public have made him who he is and they deserve to see these works.”



The “Trolley Hunters” piece that was stolen last Sunday was printed in 2007. It’s a satirical depiction of three tribesmen “hunting” for shopping carts.



“[The piece] sees the artist engage with the issue of food availability and consumption,” reads a description from the Andipa Gallery in London.



“While the group of men appears to be primitive, as both their pose and their weapons and garments recall those of cavemen, they are pictured hunting shopping trolleys,” the description adds.



“‘Trolley Hunters’ is a reflection on the relationship between Western society and alimentation: Banksy considers how mankind has progressed towards a regression which sees ready-made meals available to the masses, and a deriving decadence of nutrition habits.”


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