Stolen Henry Moore sculpture found in Toronto

[March 26, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A Henry Moore bronze sculpture stolen from a New York City gallery in 2001 has been recovered from a Toronto gallery.

The $80,000 abstract sculpture of a reclining figure was found Wednesday at Miriam Shiell Fine Art. The gallery's owner said the consignor brought it in last week, and she searched the Art Loss Register database to see if it had been reported stolen.

"When a piece doesn't have any history, anything that is verifiable, you need to do due diligence," said Shiell, who has owned the gallery for 30 years.

The recovery came days after a Paul Klee painting stolen in 1989 was found in a Montreal art gallery.

Robert Landau searched the Art Loss Register database after a Florida art dealer tried to sell him the 1930 painting, "Portrait in the Garden." The $125,000 painting had been stolen from the Marlborough Gallery in New York City. Landau turned the piece over to U.S. authorities.

Despite the similarities in the cases, the thefts are unrelated, said Christopher Marinello, executive director of the London-based Art Loss Register. The register maintains a 350,000-item database of stolen artworks.

The abstract Moore sculpture titled "Three Piece Reclining Figure: Maquette No. 4" (1975) was reported stolen in November 2001 by the James Goodman Gallery. The bronze piece is 7 1/8 inches by 3 inches by 3 inches, a model of a larger sculpture.

Shiell said she was making arrangements to send the sculpture to the James Goodman Gallery.

A message left with James Goodman Gallery was not immediately returned Thursday.

[Associated Press; By MEGAN K. SCOTT]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.