Staff Report

Louise McDowell’s “Counterpoint” sculpture — which is made of heavy bronze and sits four feet wide — was forcibly removed from its metal base, and apparently dragged away from the Greta Hackett Outdoor Sculpture Gallery over the weekend of Jan. 30-31.

City staff received reports of the sculpture’s disappearance from the gallery on Sunset Highway in Town Center. The city insures all works of art in the outdoor gallery and the public art collection, and the monetary loss will be covered.

According to a city press release, it is believed that cast metal sculptures are attractive for their significant scrap metal value, even though metal recyclers are required to question customers presenting this type of item.

Over the last six months, the city has faced artwork damage or theft three times. The last incident was in November of 2020. Between the dates of Nov. 23-24, it appeared that vandals attempted to steal the bronze city owned sculpture called “Fire Flower” from the former Farmers property at 3033 77th Ave. SE. The base was completely destroyed and there were several saw cuts in the sculpture.

According to the city’s Arts Liaison Sarah Bluvas, the incidents “are tremendously frustrating for the entire community, and we are actively pursuing additional measures to secure other city sculptures. I encourage all Islanders to visit our public art collection frequently and help us keep a watchful eye on these important community assets.”

The Mercer Island Police Department is investigating the case and asks anyone with potential leads to contact its detectives. If anyone has information about either crime, they can call the department’s anonymous crime tip line at (206) 275-7955. The city’s non-emergency dispatch number is (425) 577-5756 if anyone notices anything unusual happening at local art installations.