Sculptor says Amelia Earhart statue will be restored to its former glory, stronger than ever

There’s more positive news about a prominent bronze statue that was stolen in Harbour Grace last spring, cut into pieces, and recovered last month.

Sculptor Morgan MacDonald is promising to restore the butchered Amelia Earhart statue and return her to her bronze glory by the fall.

“It’s nothing outside the realm of things that I’m used to,” MacDonald said last week during an interview at his Logy Bay foundry.

“If all goes according to plan, we’re gonna have this back before the winter really sets in.”

In fact, the bronze artwork will be stronger than ever. MacDonald plans to reinforce the 120-kilogram statue with a stainless steel skeleton to make a repeat of the April caper harder to pull off.

“It’s going to be very difficult going forward if somebody tries to attempt the same methods that they used to cut this up,” he said.

The Amelia Earhart statue was stolen from its prominent perch at the Spirit of Harbour Grace Park in April. (Terry Roberts/CBC)

Unknown thieves snatched the statue from the Spirit of Harbour Grace Park in late April.

The sparks were flying as someone used a reciprocating saw to hack off the head, legs and separated the torso of the work of art by Luben Boykov.

It’s clear the intention was to cut the statue into smaller and smaller pieces, in the hopes of selling the metal to a scrap yard for a quick payday. But a public outcry and intense media attention likely rattled those nefarious plans.

An outpouring of financial aid also led to the creation of a $25,000 reward. 

Last month, after police received a tip, the statue was recovered in a wooded area near Heart’s Content, with all parts accounted for.

WATCH | Morgan MacDonald hopes the statue can be restored later this fall:

N.L. sculptor Morgan MacDonald to restore Amelia Earhart statue

The bronze Amelia Earhart statue that was stolen in Harbour Grace and cut into pieces earlier this year was recovered last month. Now, sculptor Morgan MacDonald says he’ll be able to restore the statue to its bronze glory by this fall. The CBC’s Terry Roberts has the details.

Thankfully, the artistic integrity of the statue remains intact.

“Vandals kind of hit the areas that are pretty straightforward to replicate and clean up,” said MacDonald.

Restoration won’t come cheap. The town is filing an insurance claim, and the provincial government has pledged $50,000 over two years.

MacDonald believes the thieves used a reciprocating tool to slice the Amelia Earhart statue into five pieces. (Terry Roberts/CBC)

For nearly two decades, the statue was a prominent symbol in the Town of Harbour Grace, and is a tribute to an aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart.

Earhart was the first woman to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, and she began her historic flight on May 20, 1932 from the airstrip in Harbour Grace.

Earhart disappeared without a trace five years after her trailblazing flight.

The mystery of her missing statue has been solved, but RCMP officers are still on the hunt for the thieves, and the town is working through the process of paying out the substantial reward to the person who found the statue. 

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