Someone Stole A 500 Pound Statue Worth $500K From A Toronto Front Yard

Toronto is full of art — from museums, to street art, to festivals, there is no end to the ways you can view and interact with art in this city. One Torontonian, however, had a very famous Toronto sculpture stolen from their front yard. The art in question? 'The Secret Bench of Knowledge' by the renowned artist Lea Vivot.

The piece is a 500-pound depiction of Adam and Eve nuzzling on a bench, which Toronto Police are now searching for.

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It was sculpted in 1986, according to Global News, and sold to Toronto resident Murray Goldman for $150,000, where he had it embedded in the stone in his front yard, on Strathearn Boulevard, west of Spadina Road.

The sculpture is now said to be worth closer to half a million dollars.

The suspects allegedly attended Goldman's address just after midnight, according to a Toronto Police Service release.

They then removed the sculpture from the concrete it was embedded in, loaded it into a white utility van, and drove away. 

The entire operation was quite the feat.

“It was pretty peaceful … it was very meaningful to us,” Goldman told Global News, “Thousands of people – literally thousands of people – have stopped and enjoyed it.”

“I noticed a young couple taking their wedding pictures on it, little children walk by and talk to Adam and Eve, and most recently one person put a COVID-19 mask on Adam’s face which I thought was very thoughtful,” he continued.

The owner is currently offering a $5,000 dollar reward for the return of the sculpture.

He wants the perpetrators to know that $5,000 is more valuable than the bronze used to make the piece, melted down.

There are multiple casts of this sculpture around the world, including Ottawa, Sarnia, Montreal, and even New York. 

But the one stolen from Goldman's front yard is the original, and in turn, holds more meaning and is incredibly valuable.

Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of the Secret Bench of Knowledge is asked to contact Toronto Police Services at 416-808-1300.

Cover image used for illustrative purposes only.