The curator of the Penticton Art Gallery is glad the mystery of the missing statue has been solved.
Paul Crawford initially feared one of the three life-sized, bronze sculptures of young children, known as Romp, had gone missing as a result of theft or vandalism. However, he was relieved to learn the statue had simply been removed from its foundation by the City of Penticton‘s parks department for repairs.
“I feel good about that, but I still feel saddened by the fact that it had to be removed to be repaired,” he said.
Crawford said he had no idea the statue had been removed, and staff at the gallery believed it had been stolen after they discovered it missing from its footing, a large boulder, following the B.C. Day long weekend.
Parks manager Ian Haras said the sculpture had a broken ankle and needed repairs. Haras said the city will contact the artist, Chong Fahcheong, regarding the repairs and re-installation of the sculpture.
Lorna Dawkins, a member of the Penticton Ikeda Japanese Gardens committee, also was relieved to learn of the statue‘s whereabouts.
Dawkins said committee members were distressed when they discovered the statue had been removed, and they scoured the shoreline in hopes of locating it.
“As long as it‘s around, we‘re happy,” she said. “We‘ve been really upset and annoyed thinking that vandals had been at work.”
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