Dancer II Statue was Lost and Found

[Merlion]

This is one of the statues in the portfolio page of ISC. It is apparently on loan for display to the city of Pittsfield, MA by the artist Jack Howard-Potter .

http://www.sculpture.org/sculpture_pics/1003460.jpg

Stolen statue found in good condition (http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_5583909)

April 03, PITTSFIELD — New York State Police today recovered a 200-pound statue stolen last week from Park Square, ....

Police here, acting on an early morning tip, contacted New York authorities who then located the piece, titled "Dancer II," in Saratoga, N.Y., near Fish Creek.

The sculpture appears to be in good condition, according to a statement from Mayor James Ruberto.....

The steel-coated sculpture of a dancing figure had been on display in Park Square since the fall of 2005. On loan to the city, the piece, titled "Dancer II," had become so popular that sculptor Jack Howard-Potter allowed it to remain on view through this fall.

"Dancer II" went missing sometime overnight between Wednesday and Thursday.

The workers also found a second steel-coated sculpture by Howard-Potter, titled "Tin Can Man," had been knocked over, O'Neil said.

The sculptures were located a few yards from each other on the south side of Park Square, ....

[evaldart]

200 lbs? You cant just put that outside with the price of scrap these days. Anyone can walk off with that. Better give that dancer some cement tap shoes. He's lucky it still exists.

[GlennT]

Nice piece. At least the thief had good taste. Unless he was going to sell it for scrap, in which case he should be exterminated along with the biblical disobedient children, non-worshippers, and Evaldart's mice!

[Merlion]

I don't know the price. In the US, how much would one get from scrapyards for 200 lb of steel?

I'm not sure the statue was stolen for scrap. Why didn't the thief take away the other steel statue nearby, and why was it later dumped far away?

[evaldart]

200 lbs might get you 20 - 25 bucks. But it takes about 4 seconds to throw that thing into the truck all by yourself.

[fused]

Where I live the scrap price is two dollars and the resale is eighty.

[Jamo]

I would think the scrap yards would have to have a reasonable level of suspicion when someone brings in a large bronze or steel sculpture for scrapping. Then again it depends on the scrap yards artistic taste if they can pick out the junk from stolen goods :)

[evaldart]

I've dragged a few sculptures back to scrapyards in my day. Nobody asked whether or not it was art. maybe that says something about my work.

[GlennT]

Then again it depends on the scrap yards artistic taste if they can pick out the junk from stolen goods :)

That one sentence also serves as a brilliant summary of the dilema of modern art exhibitions.