Thieves target another sculpture by Henry Moore

LONDON (AFP) ― A “high value” Henry Moore sculpture has been stolen from a Scottish park, police said Sunday, the latest of several thefts of the British artist’s work in recent years.

The 1950 bronze, entitled “Standing Figure,” was one of four Moore works in the Glenkiln Sculpture Park near Dumfries in southwest Scotland, alongside others by Auguste Rodin and Jacob Epstein.

Moore, who died in 1986 aged 88, was widely regarded as Britain’s best 20th-century sculptor. A string of his giant bronzes have been targeted by thieves ― possibly for scrap metal value.

“Standing Figure,” a 2.21-meter tall work, stood on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Dumfriesshire countryside.

Police Scotland said the theft took place between Thursday and Friday and they were “conducting enquiries” and appealing for information on any “suspicious activity” in the area.

Two men were jailed for one year in 2012 for stealing Moore’s “Working Model for Sundial” (1965), and the bronze plinth of another work, from the grounds of the Henry Moore Foundation in Hertfordshire, north of London.

In 2005, the two-ton bronze “A Reclining Figure” (1969-1970) was stolen from the site. It was thought to be worth?3 million pounds ($4.8 million) but may have been taken for its scrap metal value ― around 5,000 pounds.

The auction record for a work by the abstract artist was set last year when Moore’s “Reclining Figure: Festival” (1951) bronze fetched 19.1 million pounds.