EASTON, Conn. (AP) – A sculptor who came to the United States in the 1960s from Poland for artistic freedom is trying to repair some of his best pieces after they were destroyed by one or more copper thieves. Lubomir Tomaszewski, 85, whose work is displayed in museums and private collections around the world, said someone stole about 200 pounds of copper from several outdoor sculptures on his property.

“It resulted in very big damage to my lifetime of achievement,” said Tomaszewski, who came to the U.S. in 1966 from Communist-era Poland to pursue his career in industrial art.

Police are investigating the theft. It occurred in the early morning hours of July 27 in Tomaszewski’s yard at the end of a remote, dead-end street in his Fairfield County hometown. The thief or thieves knocked down seven large sculptures and several smaller pieces, then broke off the copper pieces to steal – mostly heads, arms and hands on human figures. Authorities have reported a spike in copper and aluminum thefts nationwide as the prices of the metals have jumped.

In Tomaszewski’s case, the copper thefts damaged several of the sculptures beyond repair and ruined his chances of selling the works, which ranged from about $25,000 to about $175,000.

One sculpture, “Dancer with a Tambourine,” was reduced to a stone on a metal shaft, while a big piece of wood was all that remained of “Orpheus.”

“It’s very tough, a very sad thing. I pulled what I had left away from the street and up closer to my house,” he said. “They were some of my best pieces collected over many years.”

He visited junkyards nearby, he said, but the owners said the thief probably sold the copper to junkyards in New York, where it would be hard to trace.

Tomaszewski, who attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, taught industrial design at the University of Bridgeport after leaving Poland. He retired in 1993.

Easton police have put out a public call for tips to help solve the crime, which its police chief says is the largest of its type in their town in recent memory.



On the Web:

www.http://www.sculpturesandpaintings.com



Information from: Connecticut Post, http://www.connpost.com

AP-ES-08-16-08 1528EDT


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