The Art Loss Register and Henry Moore's Stolen Sundial

Since my last post I have graduated from the Courtauld Institute (dissertation on the Bamboccianti now complete) and am a month into my internship at the Art Loss Register.

The ALR is a private company which registers, researches and attempts to recover stolen works of art http://www.artloss.com/en. Interning so far has been a fantastic experience and I have learnt a great deal about the rewards (and challenges) of working with law enforcement agencies, legal departments and the art trade to try and prevent the catastrophic loss of art worldwide.

A recent and sad example of the types of thefts we are currently experiencing in the UK, is the Henry Moore sculpture stolen from the Henry Moore Foundation in Hertfordshire between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning this week, Telegraph entry here.

Henry Moore, Sundial, c. 1965, h 22''
worth approx. £500,000, stolen from the artist's former house

This is by no means the first Moore sculpture to be stolen in recent years. In 2005 the two-tonne Reclining Figure sculpture, also in the Moore foundation, was lifted out of the grounds by a crane. Worth £3million, it is believed to have been melted down for scrap for as little as £1,500.

The increased value of raw materials such as bronze and cropper has seen a stark rise in stolen sculptures, memorial plaques and building parts (not to mention copper from railways causing huge disruptions to train services). An interesting article that goes into more detail about the rising problem of stolen sculptures can be viewed here written by a predecessor of mine at the ALR and the lawyer Chris Marinello.

Fingers crossed the thieves of Moore's Sundial are more knowledgeable about its current value in the art market than the 2005 crane-rogues and will keep it in one piece instead of melting it down...