[MSN] Sculpture stolen from Quinn estate recovered.

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Sculpture stolen from Quinn estate recovered
December 12, 2006

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --A 6-foot-tall, 500-pound bronze sculpture stolen from the
Bristol estate of the late actor Anthony Quinn has been found.


The sculpture, which Quinn created, was recovered from a Providence scrap
yard and returned to the estate Tuesday afternoon by the Bristol police,
said Quinn's widow, Katherine.

"We're still trying to figure out who took this piece, but I'm just thrilled
to have it back," Katherine Quinn, who had noticed the sculpture missing
last week, said in a telephone interview.

The sculpture sustained only slight damage from having been moved around,
and will be sent to a conservator in New York, said Benjamin Bergenholtz,
the curator for Quinn's trust.

The sculpture, which had been displayed on the estate's front lawn,
ultimately will be returned to Bristol and placed in a more secure location
at the house.

Titled "Mercedes Woman," the artwork was made in 1990 and is valued at more
than $250,000.

Katherine Quinn said she did not know in which scrapyard the sculpture was
found, and other details of the recovery were not immediately known.

A phone message left with the Bristol Police Department was not returned
Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday, Bergenholtz said he was afraid someone had stolen the piece to
melt it down and sell it as scrap.

Anthony Quinn died in 2001 at the age of 86 and lived in Bristol for the
last years of his life. His trust owns roughly 3,000 pieces of art,
including pieces he made and collected.

He starred in 100 feature films.

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