Infamous British guerrilla artist Banksy has graced New Orleans with at least 15 of his wildly popular graffiti murals, and you can even take a tour of them around the streets of the city. The artist is known not only for his satirical street art, but also for his filmmaking and political and social commentary. He is beloved by the artistic community, and his murals have been seen around the world on bridges, streets, and walls. He is instantly recognizable, and New Orleans is lucky to have so many of his amazing works around the city.

But sometime over the Christmas weekend, two of the famous artist's works were vandalized, even though they were protected behind sheets of plexiglass. Volunteers have always safeguarded the art, but this time it wasn't enough, when a hole was drilled into the plexiglass covering "The Umbrella Girl" at 1434 N. Rampart St. The painting was also defaced with red spray paint. According to NOLA.com "The “Umbrella Girl” was one of a suite of roughly 15 stencil paintings produced by the British superstar during a secret 2008 visit to New Orleans. The image, which seemed to be based on the Morton Salt logo, depicts a young girl with an umbrella." The other vandalized piece, known as "The Gray Ghost" is located at the corner of Cleo and Carondelet St.

Fans of the classic works of art spent hours over the weekend trying to rescue the paintings, and other street artists stopped by to see if they could help, at the building which was formerly known as the Drop-In Center. This was not the first time "The Umbrella Girl" was targeted. In 2014 an art thief was caught trying to saw the famous drawing from the wall. Read more about Banksy from NOLA.com, and check out a video about the incident from WWL TV below.

 

 

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