Members of Stevenage Arts Society are pleading with anyone who knows where their stolen mural might be to come forward and help them retrieve their prized creation.
Half of the mural – which depicts the joining of the new and old towns – was stolen between Saturday evening and Monday morning from outside Springfield House Community Centre.
Society member Alec Craik said: “It took a lot of work over a lot of years to achieve this. Can anyone who knows anything please get it touch or return the piece? It is more important to have it back than to find out who took it.”
The mural was painted more than 40 years ago and, after being restored, was placed on the railings outside the centre in the High Street last month to mark the start of the society’s annual exhibition.
The event showcases the work of artists from the town and surrounding areas and Alec, 75, said the theft has overshadowed the event’s final weekend.
Fellow society member Alice Biucchi thinks the mural could have been taken by drunk people messing around at the weekend.
She said: “On every Friday and Saturday night it is absolutely packed out in the Old Town since the leisure park became less busy. We left it on the railing just off the High Street so maybe some people walking home saw it and thought they’d take it.”
The attack comes in the same week that nearby Barclay School gave its precious Henry Moore sculpture, pictured right, a prominent new home at the Walkern Road campus – full story, page 5.
To contact the society call 07565 912656. Anyone with information about the theft should call Herts police on 101.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here