Phlegm painted this in 2010. Like a lot of his paintings it remained pretty much untouched by other graffiti writers and artists. Sadly this one will not be around to be enjoyed by people who take pleasure in finding Phlegms hidden treasures. Someone using an angle grinder stole it over the weekend 18/19th May. On the other side of the boards was a recent painting by Sheffield artist coLor.
Visit Phlegm HERE
More Phlegm on Postcard Cafe HERE
More Phlegm on Little Bits of Sheffield HERE
Postcard Cafe 
Some people are just rubbish! Who steals street art?! 😦
Yes. There are many people outraged by this. Phlegm occupies a place in the hearts of many people in Sheffield (and beyond) and anyone taking his work for personal gain is likely to be frowned upon. We all know that once something is painted it will have a life of its own but rarely is stuff simply removed in this way. I wonder if we will ever find out who and why? Thanks for your comment.
Awful I wonder which auction house this will show up in
The people I have bumped into are pretty outraged by the theft so it will be interesting to see if and how events unfold. Thanks for your comment, Best wishes 🙂
my ‘like’ does of course mean that i like that you are posting about this…
I took the shots of the cut boards to capture the brutal way this painting was stolen and wanted the whole post to be about documenting the aftermath of the theft. It is a sad blog post but one of interest to people in Sheffield (and beyond) who love and value Phlegms work. I see his work (and that of many other artists) as gifts to the city and I feel very privileged to be able to visit so many of them. I’m guessing word will get out eventually about exactly who stole this and why. Best wishes, N
You may have seen this article http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2013/feb/23/banksy-missing-mural-auction-stopped about a similar event but it f not… Many of us are street art devotees, and much as I am happy for the artists’ success, these dubious accountrements of success are appalling. I want street art on the streets not in my or someone else’s living room, or corporate lobby.
Thanks for the link to the Guardian article. I hadn’t read about it although had heard whispers about a Banksy being auctioned off. I agree with your comments and people who love and visit Phlegms more hidden works know that the painting is also very much about the location where he has painted. The Tragedy Comedy painting that I posted recently is a good example of how Phlegm uses location to great effect. It was painted on the back wall of the stage. Anyone (literally) taking this painting out of context would appear to be missing the point! Thanks for your comment and link, best wishes, N
Greed, selfishness, stupidity 😦
I think most people who know and love Phlegms work will be pretty outraged by the theft. It will be interesting to see how the story unfolds… It seems particularly unnecessary when the boards from the building on the Moor are probably going to be thrown away!!!
That’s a crying shame. Some people call the artists whose skill creates these art works. They are barking up the wrong tree – the true vandals are the ones who destroy. Well documented, Nigel.
Thanks for your comments. So much of Phlegms work is about location so by removing it the thieves are totally missing the point as well as spoiling it for others. At the same time Phlegms work disappeared there was a new painting by coLor on the reverse of the boards which also fell victim to the theives. I will publish that another time on my LBoS blog. Best wishes, N
such a shame