Stolen Henry Moore sculpture fuels concerns over public art

Leading arts figures have questioned whether valuable sculptures should be displayed in open locations after a 'high value' Henry Moore bronze was stolen from a site overlooking a reservoir (Alamy)

Leading arts figures have questioned whether valuable sculptures should be displayed in open locations after a “high value” Henry Moore bronze was stolen from a site overlooking a reservoir.

The renowned sculptor was delighted when his 1950 work Standing Figure was put on display on a rocky outcrop on a sheep farm near Dumfries, along with other works by important artists including Auguste Rodin and Sir Jacob Epstein.

Moore, whose sculpture Reclining Man sold for a UK record price of £19m last year, wrote that he “was thrilled with the beautiful landscape” surrounding Yon Figure, as it was locally known. Moore’s work has also been stolen for its scrap value in the past. In July 2012, a bronze sundial worth about £500,000 was stolen from the grounds of the Henry Moore Foundation in Hertfordshire, then sold for £46 to a scrap dealer, who later contacted police.

Richard Demarco, an artist, promoter and stalwart of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, said: “It’s terrible because that landscape needed that sculpture.”