A bronze sculpture price £60,000 has been stolen from the backyard of a world-renowned artist.
The paintings, often called La Promesse, was taken from Anne Curry’s residence in Saffron Walden, Essex, between 5 and 6 December whereas she was at a funeral.
The imposing bronze sculpture of an iris flower weighs about 350kg and is certainly one of Curry’s most profitable works.
Essex Police has urged anybody who could have details about any suspicious automobiles or suspicious behaviour within the Arkesden space on the night of December 5 and the early hours of December 6 to get in contact.
Curry, who is legendary for her backyard sculptures and portraits, together with a bronze bust of Sir John Main that she made for the Home of Commons, mentioned the theft was “unbelievable”.
“I had been away for the day because of a funeral in Warwick and I returned in the evening to see the sculpture had gone. It had obviously happened in the night,” she mentioned.
The 82-year-old mentioned she believed the thief had visited her residence earlier than to decide on which sculpture to focus on.
“I have 15 to 20 sculptures in this garden, and almost all of them are resins because it’s safer for theft, and it’s safer to transport,” she mentioned.
“The person who stole that one had been in the garden and systematically knocked on the sculptures to see which one was in bronze.”
La Promesse price £20,000 to forged and has a market worth of £60,000.
Curry has criticised the police for taking three weeks to go to her residence following the theft, saying she was “upset” on the lack of progress within the investigation.
“What people do not realise is that a bronze sculpture is not stolen for its beauty, it is stolen for the bronze which is taken immediately to a scrap merchant, cut up, and sold up, because the bronze is very valuable,” she mentioned.
“When something like this is happening, the police need to be on it quickly.”
An Essex Police spokesperson mentioned officers had made “four efforts to contact Dr Curry to arrange a visit throughout December, which had unfortunately gone unanswered”.
