Barbara Hepworth sculpture in Dulwich Park missing?

[jimmyay]

More on the Roma gangs stealing our heritage

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/283504/Foreign-gangs-in-metal-raids

[ianr]

> More on the Roma gangs stealing our heritage

> [www.express.co.uk]

It's not more. It's the same stuff, from the same source, as was in the Mail article you advertised on the previous page.

[ibilly99]

Words fail me - we live in darkening times.

[Applespider]

Senor Chevalier Wrote:

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> There

> is no way this got out without someone seeing

> something - especially given the CCTV world we

> live in.

I was thinking about this earlier and the only CCTV that I can think of anywhere near the Park is the traffic camera at the Grove junction - and presumably the next one along the South Circular. There's none in the park (that I'm aware of) and since there are no lights either, you wouldn't have got much on a camera. I suppose you might have got some people scoping it out. With luck, there are enough cameras on the surrounding junctions that the police can look for suspicious vehicles and try tracking it but not going to hold my breath.

For other witnesses, well, the South Circ isn't all that busy after about 9pm - I've cycled the stretch from the college to the Grove with no-one passing me so lots of time for a van to pull in at the gates, cut the bolts and go in without anyone noticing. Once they were in the park, they could take the time they needed.

Count me in with those who hate mindless criminals wrecking our heritage for the sake of relatively small amounts of cash. And yes, they keep talking about doing something about scrap metal dealers; just get on and do something. At the moment, while I'm sure there are legit dealers, there are enough who know that questions won't be asked to make crimes like this worthwhile.

[Twirly]

I wonder what else the thieves are likely to target over the coming months, and what can be done to prevent the thefts? Some things such as cabling are easily replaceable though their theft causes inconvenience, others such as this statue are irreplaceable.

[citizenED]

That first picture, Senor Chevalier, is something special - thanks.

[kf]

It's very sad and such a horrible thing to happen. It's not everyday I see my Dad on the news and in the paper talking about it!

[Senor Chevalier]

Twirly - not sure what can be done to prevent more such thefts. Not quite the same, but my next door neighbour's motorbike was pinched last night from the front doorstep - heavy lock cut through. I didn't hear a thing. Can everyone be more vigilant and not hold back from asking people who they are and what they are doing when they see something suspicious please. And when you hear a car / house alarm in your street for goodness sake check it out.

[ibilly99]

The Guardian opines ....

[grumpyoldman]

Ok if the insurance pays that will be ?500,000 if it was insured for replacement value.

now go out and buy a new sculpture.

Go to insurers and ask to have it covered. Problem. With increases of these types of theft and no security around it, it is not in an art gallery or anything< the possibility of it being stolen again is increased and therefore on that basis, the likelyhood must fall to being stolen in the next 10 years say.

Therefore the cost to insure it would increase to 1in 10 which is a 10% rate, add on profit margin and say 35% cost to the insuranmce company ( they have to pay staff, bills and office space) then the rate increases from 10% to closer to 15% annual.In addition you then have to add IPT.

Therefore the cost to insure the new statue would be ?500,000 *15% annually which would be ?75,000. This tyhen becomes prohibative to replace the statue.

[Twirly]

Buy a marble one instead.

[savage]

Make the replacement sculpture out of a material that has no value as a commodity?

[El Pibe]

Broken Umbrellas?

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3411/3629515755_da4f2947a6.jpg

Channel 4 umbrellas by LondonSLR, on Flickr

[candj]

Paper cups?

Kevin Osmond

[Penguin68]

A number of councils have considered, I believe, some have actually made resin casts of key metal street and park art, replacing what is on view with these scrap-valueless copies.

This could certainly also be done with memorial plates - with the originals being kept more securely (but still allowing access to them).

Non metallic casts certainly can't be used for power and communications cables, they have to be in the metal they are in for purely functional reasons, and that is probably also true of street manhole covers, but 'art' can be copied. Maybe the insurance for the Hepworth might be best used securing other vulnerable art and memorial work in Southwark.

[Jeremy]

Penguin - that makes sense, but it's sad to think that it may come to this.

[the-e-dealer]

Savage - It was made of something that had little value - You cant predicts rises in value.

[Vilmos]

There are hundreds of us, maybe thousands, who mourne the loss of this popular, pleasing sculpture.

Dulwich Park will be the sadder for the loss of this treasure and isn't it a shame that we are slowly being drawn into a world where nothing is sacred. There is a class of people who have no culture, no sense of decency and no moral values. They are dragging us all down into their pathetic drab world which only has self destruction as an end.

[dogcat]

If the thieves are caught would Southwark swing for the cost of a gallows (pun intended)?

Surely if we strung the bastards up it would act as a deterrent or does that sound a tad extreme?

So glad I'm knocking on a bit because the world does seem to be disappearing down the lavatory!

[Trevor Moore]

Maybe stringing up is a tad excessive. But the reactions I saw to the violent removal of this beautiful piece are interesting. A huge number of gasps of disbelief, followed by a pained look for having lost something precious. Followed by expletives and real anger.

As the criminals have proverbially bottled us all in the face, I think the least we can do is reinstate the stocks down in Dulwich Village (see the remains to the right of Dulwich Books) and when the perpetrators are found, on their way to clink we all get the chance to tip the contents of our new brown food waste mini-bins over their heads.

[Sue]

Trevor Moore Wrote:

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> when the perpetrators are found, on their way to

> clink we all get the chance to tip the contents of

> our new brown food waste mini-bins over their

> heads.

xxxxxxx

Or the contents of our toilets.

[i*Rate]

Vilmos,

I totally agree with you about those monstrous people in our world with no culture, no sense of decency and no moral values -- they're called bankers.

Oh, and there's another group too, with a different name -- big tax dodgers.

However, I do despise the people that stole this work as they have taken away a great piece of Art that was owned and loved by the community and could be enjoyed by anyone for free.

There have been more revolting acts; for example the killing and maiming of the animals in the children's zoo at Crystal Palace Park some years ago - quite sickening.

Regards, with respect.

[DulwichFox]

Not a problem..

Venus De Milo has no arms.

Still worth a fortune.

Fox.

[karter]

This crime sux, let's hope the cops catch these people.

[Trevor Moore]

Dear Eliza D

If you have any photographs of the Hepworth sculpture, would you be willing to share them with Dulwich Park Friends, so that we can create an archive? We are in the process of upgrading our website and when it's ready (next couple of weeks) we will have a space especially for this.

Regards,

Trevor Moore, Chair of Dulwich Park Friends