I’ve Been Neglecting The Blog

because of Facebook, my apologies.

Here is one of my recent favorites – I was totally obsessed with this case while living in London in ’05. Only in the UK would 2 guys load a Henry Moore sculpture onto a lorry and bring it to a chop-shop to sell to East Indians for the price of bronze.

May 19, 2009 (NY Times)

Missing Moore Sculpture May Have Been Sold For Scrap

By Dave Itzkoff

The Henry Moore Foundation The Henry Moore sculpture “Reclining Figure,” which was stolen from the artist’s estate in 2005.

The British police believe that they have solved the case of a Henry Moore sculpture that has been missing for four years, and now suspect that it was sold for scrap, The Guardian reported. In 2005, the two-ton bronze sculpture, “Reclining Figure,” was stolen from Moore’s estate in Hertfordshire, 30 miles north of London, and a flatbed truck and crane believed to have been used in the crime were quickly recovered. After more than three years of investigation, Jon Humphries, the detective chief inspector of the Hertfordshire police, said that evidence suggests the work was “cut up” on the night of the crime, “then taken to a location where it was irreparably damaged before it was shipped abroad.” He added, “In my mind we’ve managed to kill off the mystery as much as is possible.” The sculpture, valued at about $4.6 million, would have yielded about $2,300 in scrap metal, Detective Humphries said.

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Tags: Dave Itzkoff, Henry Moore, Henry Moore Sculpture stolen, Lauren Gentile, Missing Moore Sculpture May Have Been Sold For Scrap, Reclining Figure, Specullector

This entry was posted on May 22, 2009 at 7:07 pm and is filed under Art theft, British art market, fine art conservation, International art market, investing in art, Lauren Gentile, Specullector. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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