Replacement of Stolen Public Sculpture

On Halloween weekend 2022, Garden Wheel, an outdoor sculpture by Elizabeth MacDonald of Connecticut, disappeared. The sculpture was acquired in 1998, and over the past 25 years, became part of the public identity of the Museum. In the Spring of 2022, the Museum underwent a complete renovation of the garden to highlight more outdoor works from the collection. Garden Wheel was moved to the most prominent location of the newly renovated garden. As a seasonal sculpture, Garden Wheel is brought in from the elements each autumn and reinstalled in the spring. With the Museum's Autumn Art Auction taking place in early November, the decision was made to leave the sculpture out for an extra weekend for our guests to admire. Unfortunately, after Halloween, staff noticed it was missing and immediately alerted the University of North Dakota police department. After an extensive search, the Grand Forks Sheriffs' Department was called to scan the English Coulee, but nothing was found. Numerous media outlets ran the story, and the word spread throughout social media. A $1,000 reward was offered for information or the return of the sculpture, no questions asked. Unfortunately, it never materialized.

The Museum is seeking to raise $10,000 to purchase a replacement sculpture that will welcome guests to the Museum for years to come. We are working with the University of North Dakota police department to install security cameras and with individuals to make the new sculpture more difficult to steal. The $10,000 will be used to commission the new work and ship it to North Dakota. Our preference is to commission Elizabeth MacDonald to replace her original missing sculpture. In the event that this is not possible, we will expand our search for a suitable sculpture for the space.