Nelson Mandela artwork stolen from city's landmark

A print of one of Nelson Mandela's sketches was gifted by his daughter to St George's Hall

A print of a sketch by Nelson Mandela has been stolen from a listed landmark in Liverpool.

The artwork was taken from St George's Hall a few hours before it opened to visitors on 13 October, Merseyside Police said.

The force has released CCTV images of a man leaving the Victorian-era venue shortly after 07:45 BST, and said officers want to speak to him about the theft.

Named "Imprisonment", the sketch features two hands tied together and Mandela's signature and was gifted by one of his daughters to the Liverpool charity Mandela8 in 2018.

The stolen print is a copy of the sketch Imprisonment by Nelson Mandela, who died in 2013

Displayed in the Mandela Room at St George's Hall, the print was a copy of a sketch from the former South African president's "Struggle" series, with a limited number of copies made and held by various organisations.

The frame, which was left at the venue, was damaged during the theft, detectives said.

Merseyside Police appealed for information about the heist and said they had conducted a forensic examination of the scene and analysed CCTV footage.

Police released an image of a man who they want to talk to about the theft, which occurred more than an hour before the hall opens to visitors

Det Insp Paula Jones said: "This print was a highly valued addition to the Mandela Room at St George's Hall, and anyone who has visited since it was gifted in 2018 will have seen the powerful image."

Sonia Bassey, chair of Mandela8, told BBC Radio Merseyside that the theft was "heartbreaking".

"It means so much to us in that it was gifted to us by Nelson Mandela's daughter when we went to South Africa."

Mandela spearheaded the country's struggle against the apartheid system of racial segregation and spent more than 27 years in jail during white-minority rule.

Makaziwe Mandela showed the then Prince Charles her father's artworks at St George's Hall in 2019

Ms Bassey said they were "quite upset" there had not been no public appeal from Merseyside Police before Wednesday – nine days after the theft.

"There may be justifiable reasons for that," she said, adding "all we want is to be treated with dignity and respect and to be kept informed of what's going on".

St George's Hall is one of Liverpool's best-known landmarks

She said: "St George's Hall has been doing that with us but they are limited in what they can tell us based on what they're being told.

"If you don't put out information about artworks as soon as they are taken, it's highly unlikely you will ever get it back.

"We don't even care if it's anonymously, we would like the artwork back."