This art imitated life a little too much. Cops in London broke into the art gallery of Banksy’s former agent when they mistook a hyper-realistic statue inside for an unconscious woman.. Police ...

Art World Police Broke Into the Gallery of Banksy’s Former Agent, Mistaking a Sculpture for a Dead Woman "The work is to provoke and it's definitely achieving that," said a gallery employee.

Walker, who spent 20 years in the FBI's Art Crime unit before retiring in 2024, told ARTnews that he helped recover 20,000 artworks worth around $1 billion during his law enforcement career.

A founding member of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, Ronnie Walker’s elaborate sting operations often saw him posing as a dealer, authenticator or buyer of stolen paintings.

And while the former agent didn’t see a significant increase in art-related crimes over his two decades investigating them (if there appear to be more media reports, it’s because “we just ...