Update: Springfield stolen statue found

UPDATE 8-29-24: The Dancing Girl Bronze Statue has been found, according to Springfield Police.

The property owner’s daughter, Amy Horner Boyd, wrote on he r Facebook page the police were notified after someone tried to sell a part of the sculpture in a scrapyard. Police were able to retrieve the remaining pieces. Boyd said the statue was cut into three.

Springfield police have not arrested anyone regarding the theft.

The family is hopeful the statue can be repaired.

Original story

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A bronze statue is missing from a privately owned garden that the owners open to the public.

The property owner John Horner says the statue had been in place for eight years and in that time it had never been disturbed until now.

“We were sitting on the porch this morning and heard some rattling and going on in this part of the garden,” Horner said. “When daylight came my wife came out here and she found that this was gone and so our hearts sunk.”

The statue of a young girl in a dancing pose was commissioned by a retired sculptor, Rosalind Cook. It was attached to the ground with a chain, and as an art piece is worth about $25,000 to $30,000 today.

Horner says the statue is a prize piece of the garden that sits right at the entrance. Horner owns and takes care of the garden, which is right next to his home on East Walnut Street.

“We’re not particularly hopeful that we can recover it, because if this were professionals, it could be very well that it would be probably cut up, melted down and sold for probably a fraction of the value of the original sculpture. On the other hand, it’s a very recognizable piece, it’s very unique, so if it’s amateurs [who] just want to pass it off, maybe there’s hope to recover in it. Maybe,” Horner said.

It’s a theft that upsets neighbors in Rountree.

“The statue being stolen is very upsetting. The Dominion Gardens was put together by the family that lives there. It’s completely free and accessible to the public. It’s a place that I run by every day and see families and kids from local schools out there,” Jennifer Danko said. “It’s just, you know, this is something that was done just out of the kindness of their hearts, and then to have this happen is just it’s very unfortunate.”

“I feel bad is gone. I wish there was something I could do to help out recover it. I just don’t know if it’s going to be recovered,” Tim Wand said.

Horner plans on replacing the statue when he’s able to, but hopes the theft doesn’t deter people from using the space he created so many years ago.

“I want to reiterate, despite things like this, I hope that it’s not discouraging to other people because [the park] has been a safe place for all of these years and it continues to be a safe place and a sanctuary for people. People are welcome to come and read and just enjoy the greenspace, enjoy God’s landscape and the flowers. So don’t stay away,” Horner said.

OzarksFirst reached out to the artist, Rosalind Cook who sent us a statement that reads:

John and Pat Horner have been dear friends for many years.  With great excitement, John purchased “Summer Dancer” to bless Springfield because she depicted joy and a child’s delight. Unfortunately, I am sure that the sculpture was stolen for its copper content and will soon be melted down. Bronze is 95% copper. “Summer Dancer” was a bronze casting of a  limited edition of 39. The original was created in my studio and a rubber mold is made of it.

The mold is stored at the Colorado foundry and used to begin the process for each one of the 39 bronze sculptures poured. This process is called the ‘Lost wax cast process’ which is 5,000 years old. Only today, the materials are more technologically improved. Each sculpture is labor intensive with many weeks of hand work by artisans as it processes through each step of the Lost Wax Casting Process. The mold for Summer Dancer was destroyed after the last casting to preserve the value and integrity of the limited edition.

John and Pat are in the process of choosing another sculpture to replace “Summer Dancer” which will project the same spirit. As their friend and the artist of the stolen sculpture I want to do whatever I can to see that a sculpture of their choosing can be properly and securely installed in this beautiful park.  I am retired from creating new works and am no longer in galleries but do continue to sell off of my website until the editions are gone.

Rosalind Cook

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