Thieves Lift 4,600-Pound Moore Statue

It was a weighty criminal matter, a 4,600-pound bronze sculpture by renowned artist Henry Moore, lifted from the British countryside.

The Henry Moore Foundation on Monday offered a $175,000 reward for the return of the work, valued at about $5 million.

A gang of thieves used a crane last week to pluck it from the field where it had rested undisturbed for years on the foundation grounds.

They loaded it onto a flatbed Mercedes truck and drove away. At least one motorist saw the sculpture strapped onto the back of the truck about an hour later. The truck and crane, which had been stolen, were later found abandoned in Essex, but there was no sign of the sculpture.

“Reclining Figure,” from 1969-70, is so massive that foundation spokesman Gareth Spence said, “It does seem amazing that they were able to move it at all.”

The Moore foundation, near the small village of Perry Green in Hertfordshire, said the figure was stolen around 10 p.m. Thursday. The entire event was recorded on the foundation’s security cameras. The images were being studied closely to see if they could lead to the thieves in the truck and in an accompanying Daihatsu 4x4 vehicle.

The motive for the theft was unclear. Was it commissioned by an impassioned Moore art lover or was it an opportunistic act by someone who realized that the sculpture was lying there for anyone with the right equipment to take?

On one hand, the monumental abstract sculpture would be instantly recognizable as a Moore piece by any art expert, making it extremely difficult to sell, said Spence.

On the other, melting down the artwork, at more than 2 tons, for the value of its bronze would hardly seem worth it, he said. Newspapers estimated that the metal could fetch about $9,000.

The sculpture is nearly 12 feet long and 6 1/2 feet wide and high.

Chief Inspector Richard Harbon called the sculpture a “national treasure” that would be “very difficult to get rid of.”

“This is not opportunistic theft. These are people who know what they were doing, knew what they were after,” Harbon told the BBC. “A very, very audacious theft.”

Moore was Britain’s most influential modern sculptor, known for his rounded, reclining figures. He lived and worked on the 72-acre estate in Perry Green, about 30 miles north of London, for 40 years until his death in 1986. He left the estate to the foundation, wanting his sculptures to be seen in the fields where he left them.

“The team here are extremely upset,” Tim Llewellyn, the foundation’s director, said in a statement.

“This work is of great importance and to have it taken from us is devastating. We urge anyone with information to please contact the police.”

Spence added: “It is known throughout the world.... It seems phenomenal that someone could have stolen it to order. It is difficult to say what the plan was.”

Spence said he could not recall such a case before, involving such a large statue. “This is the fear of all sculpture parks,” he added.