Search for the lost bulls of Birmingham and other missing (or mislaid) art
Conservation group’s appeal to discern fate of public sculptures that were stolen or simply forgotten
FROM the four enormous bulls mounted on a Birmingham shopping centre to the £3 million Henry Moore bronze adorning his Foundation’s garden, they were once among the best-known public art installations in Britain.
But they are among works of art that have been “disappearing before the public’s eyes”, Historic England has warned – either stolen, sold or even lost to the records.
The organisation, which protects historic sites, is launching a campaign to retrieve missing sculptures for the nation. It said an increasing number of public works of art were being lost thanks to the rising price of scrap metal, cash-strapped local councils selling them off, and mysterious disappearances during building works.
They include a set of four fibreglass bulls by Trewin Copplestone, each two metres high and weighing nine tons, taken down from the Bull Ring in Birmingham after 40 years in 2003 for redevelopment and never seen since.
Moore’s 1969 Reclining Figure was stolen a decade ago from the grounds of the Henry Moore Foundation in Hertfordshire, taken away on a flatbed lorry and likely to have been melted for scrap worth around £1,500. Other missing works include Barbara Hepworth’s Two Forms (Divided Circle), stolen from Dulwich Park, south London, in 2011, and Cambridge Piece by Barry Flanagan, vandalised beyond repair in the city in 1972.
Also missing is the Skylon, a futuristic beacon that formed the centrepiece of the Festival of Britain on the South Bank in 1951. The brass-ring plate that went around its base is kept at the Museum of London, but no one has been able to prove what happened to the rest of the structure. It is rumoured to have been sold for scrap.
Historic England has issued a plea for help to stem the loss of public artworks, saying a “worrying” amount has vanished. It has listed around 40 works of post-war sculpture that are stolen, lost or missing, suggesting the rising price of scrap metal has been an incentive to thieves. “The price of scrap metal, the need for many public bodies to fill funding gaps, pressure from redevelopment, and vandalism, are all reasons why this national collection of public art is being eroded,” it said.
Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “Part of England’s national collection of public artworks is disappearing before our eyes. Historic England’s research is only the tip of the iceberg as it’s almost impossible to trace what has happened to every piece of public art since 1945.”
The results of the appeal will be used in an exhibition at Somerset House in London next year, which hopes to tell the stories behind the missing art.