Banksy howling wolf artwork removed

Media caption,

The artwork was taken from Rye Lane, Peckham

  • Published

A fourth Banksy artwork revealed in London in as many days appears to have been stolen.

On Thursday, the Bristol-based street artist posted an image, external on Instagram of the silhouette of a wolf howling at the moon on a satellite dish in Rye Lane, Peckham, south London.

The Banksy press team told the BBC they "believed" it had been stolen.

The Metropolitan Police said it had been called to reports of a "stolen satellite dish containing artwork" but no arrests had been made.

Image source, PA
Image caption,

Pictures were taken of men dismantling the satellite dish and taking it down

A witness, Tom Kellow, was on his lunch break when he saw the satellite dish getting removed.

He said: "They had a ladder. There was one guy on the roof and the other two were watching the ladder.

"They saw me filming and it got a bit tetchy. One gave me a kick in the side and another tried to throw my phone on the roof. Luckily it hit a tree and came back down again.

"I told a police officer in the area about it.

"It's a great shame we can't have nice things and it's a shame it couldn't have lasted more than an hour."

Image source, PA
Image caption,

A man hands the satellite dish down to another man waiting on a ladder

The artwork was the fourth Banksy to be revealed in London since Monday. The street artist also claimed credit for the three other black silhouette compositions, which appeared around the capital as part of an animal-themed series.

According to Google maps, the satellite dish in Rye Lane was not believed to have been there before the artwork appeared.

Image caption,

A man was seen carrying the new Banksy down Rye Lane

Banksy unveiled his third piece on Wednesday, external, which depicts three monkeys seemingly swinging on a railway bridge in Brick Lane, east London.

On Tuesday, the anonymous street artist posted a photo of two elephant silhouettes, with their trunks stretched towards each other, created on the side of a house in Edith Terrace in Chelsea.

Image source, PA
Image caption,

A man with a ladder and another with the satellite dish are seen running off

Image source, Banksy/Instagram
Image caption,

Banksy's artwork had been revealed above a shop unit in Rye Lane, Peckham

He posted an artwork of a goat perched on top of a wall near Kew Bridge in Richmond on Monday.

The BBC understands the art series is set to conclude at the end of this week.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, external, X, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk, external

Related topics