Tower Hamlets council plans to sell a major work by the late sculptor Henry Moore to help fund key services.
The work, Draped Seated Woman, is reportedly worth up to £17m. It was bought by London County Council for £6,000 in 1962, and displayed at the Stifford Estate until 1997, when Yorkshire Sculpture Park borrowed the piece.
Lutfur Rahman, the mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “Do we keep this valuable sculpture in Yorkshire or do we try to sell this globally important artwork in order to release much needed funds to invest in local heritage projects we can sustain [and] affordable housing?”
A council spokeswoman said it considered displaying the sculpture in a public place, but the cost of insuring the sculpture would be too expensive.
The work, Draped Seated Woman, is reportedly worth up to £17m. It was bought by London County Council for £6,000 in 1962, and displayed at the Stifford Estate until 1997, when Yorkshire Sculpture Park borrowed the piece.
Lutfur Rahman, the mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “Do we keep this valuable sculpture in Yorkshire or do we try to sell this globally important artwork in order to release much needed funds to invest in local heritage projects we can sustain [and] affordable housing?”
A council spokeswoman said it considered displaying the sculpture in a public place, but the cost of insuring the sculpture would be too expensive.