Renowned artist 'upset and unsettled' after theft

The work by Anne Curry showed the seed pod of Iris Foetidissima, the artist's website said

A world-renowned artist said she felt "upset and unsettled" after the theft of a bronze sculpture worth £60,000 from her garden.

Anne Curry, 82, noticed the iris flower statue had been taken from Arkesden, Saffron Walden, Essex on the evening of Friday, 6 December.

She said the artwork, called La Promesse, weighed about 350kg (55st 2lb), was 1.57m (5ft) tall, and was one of her most "successful pieces".

Essex Police said it was investigating the theft and was "pursuing a number of targeted lines of inquiry".

La Promesse "has been particularly successful, specially placed in water, in a canal or a pond", the artist said on her website

The artist, who created a bust of Sir John Major for the House of Commons, said: "I had been away for the day because of a funeral in Warwick returned in the evening to see the sculpture had gone."

She believed the thieves had visited her home before and checked a large number of statues to see which ones were bronze.

"What people do not realise is that a bronze sculpture is not stolen for its beauty, it is stolen for the bronze, which is taken immediately to a scrap merchant, cut up, and sold up, because the bronze is very valuable.

"It's left me unsettled and upset."

She said she was visited by police on 27 December, three weeks after it was reported stolen.

"When something like this is happening, the police need to be on it quickly."

An Essex Police spokesman said officers had made four efforts to contact Dr Curry to arrange a visit throughout December, which had gone unanswered.

The artist, married to the retired Conservative MP, David Curry, said she was "very attached" to the work of art, which cost £20,000 to cast and had a market value of £60,000.