City's missing statue turns up after nearly 30 years in local yard

UPI ^ | JAN. 25, 2024 / 1:45 PM | By Ben Hooper

[Red Badger]

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- A statue that went missing from Louisville, Ky., nearly 30 years ago has been returned to the city by a man who had it in his back yard.

David Greer said his father worked on a renovation project in 1996 at the Belvedere, an elevated event space in downtown Louisville, when he brought the statue home.

"Dad said they tossed it to the side and he asked if he could have it, and they said, sure. That's where it began its life at [our] house," Greer told WLKY-TV.

The statue depicts the Greek god Pan playing a flute.

"I didn't have any clue what it was. I mean, it was just this little guy playing a flute. And I was like, OK, you know, it's art," said Greer's sister, Sheri Eckl.

Greer said he decided to do some research into the statue's history in December and discovered the Louisville Metro Public Arts Department had been searching for the artwork, which was created by artist Charlotte Price.

"He put two and two together, reached out to the city and said, 'Hey, I think we have something that belongs to you.' So he was very interested in returning it to the city, and we're very happy to have it back," said Jessica Kincaid, director of the city's Office of Arts and Creative Industries.

Kincaid said the statue is still in good condition despite nearly three decades without proper upkeep and is now being appraised for the city. She said the city will decide soon where the statue will be installed.

Greer said he was happy to have the statue returned to where it belongs.

"Just as long as it goes to wherever it needs to be, to put it back out, for people to see it again," he told Louisville Public Media.

VIDEO AT LINK.................

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

It was safer in his back yard than in public display exposed to 3rd world copper thieves.

[norwaypinesavage]

Seeing the statue, I would say that the city would have been better off if the guy had kept his mouth shut.

[cockroach_magoo]

That doesn’t look like a statue of Pan.

More like a moonshiner’s kid siphoning gasoline.

[Red Badger]

The Pan Flute is multiple pipes in a row, not single pipe................

[Ken H]

It’s Zamfir!

[Dad was my hero]

maybe it is a statue of a kid trying to drink something through one of the paper straws?

[Seeing More Clearly Now]

They liked it, knew it was special and stole it and knew they stole it. They should be fined a significant amount and have the theft of art and government property and public art on their police record. I, for one, think the piece is lovely, but that is not the point. A public employee or anyone stealing public art needs to be held legally and morally accountable.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

The only people speaking are the son and daughter and they are returning the piece.

If stolen, it was the father. Did he lie or not?
Cant say, but nothing should happen without him being able to present his side of the story and of course, a trial if they think he stole it rather than took it because it was abandoned. (Sounds like he is out of the picture, so maybe passed.)

[Deaf Smith]

It was a renovation project.

Someone in charge had a vision/plan to make changes and the statue was not part of it.

This is common as more liberals/leftist are hired into positions of power.

Cities/towns throw away lots of history and art to go Modern or another direction.

[Deaf Smith]

Many times, the municipal project manager will tell the the public through press releases that items are being stored off site as the project is being developed.

Years later, those public items will be sold off or scrapped with little fanfare.

Many years latter; **What ever happened to xxxxx?

“Sorry, no record exist of it’s disposition.”

[trebb]

Sigh

[Vaduz]

That’s one creepy statue why would anyone want it.

[Red Badger]

One man’s art is another man’s $4 a pound..............

[Vaduz]

Guess so it looks like a kid siphoning gas out of a car.

[CFW]

“It was a renovation project.
Someone in charge had a vision/plan to make changes and the statue was not part of it.

This is common as more liberals/leftist are hired into positions of power.

Cities/towns throw away lots of history and art to go Modern or another direction.”

---

That’s a good possibility. When there is a large renovation project, everything being torn down or taken out is just thrown into dumpsters and taken to the landfill. Construction workers often retrieve some of the discarded items and take them home.

There is a large university in the near door county and they are constantly doing renovations on one building or another. The construction debris landfill is located in my rural county and trucks come to the landfill daily to dump stuff from renovation projects at the university. People aren’t supposed to remove items from the landfill either. However, I can tell you our county offices haven’t had to purchase new office furniture in years. The number of desks, office chairs, meeting room furniture, etc that ends up at the landfill is just amazing. All is in good shape but is just being tossed due to renovations or a new dean was to redecorate. Also, sometimes their formal gardens are redone and the old benches and statutes are taken out and much of it ends up in the landfill.

Another example is an industrial plant nearby. OSHA requires they replace their ladders every two years. The old ones go to the landfill. Have you priced ladders lately!? Many people who work at the landfill (along with their family & friends) have nice practically new ladders just because of an OSHA rule. It’s amazing how much good stuff goes to the construction debris landfills.

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

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