The Fenelon Arts Committee is asking for the public’s help after a sculpture valued at $2,000 disappeared from the Downtown Sculpture Exhibition in Fenelon Falls.
The committee believes that “Hans,” a black-clay sculpture created in 2018 by 90-year-old artist Rosalinde Baumgartner, was taken sometime on Sunday (August 23). The sculpture measures 15 by 11 by eight inches.
In a statement, the committee is asking anyone who was in downtown Fenelon Falls on Sunday evening to check dashcam or security camera footage for anything that could help determine what happened to the sculpture.
The committee is also encouraging residents to check their properties and garbage and recycling bins in case the sculpture was abandoned after being taken. The committee notes that anyone who removed it as a prank or on a dare can simply contact the committee and arrange for its return.
Rosalinde has contributed work to the seasonal exhibition every year since it began in 2024. According to the committee, she said while installing “Hans” earlier this year that she was proud of the work and considered it one of her best sculptures.
Her son Richard Baumgartner wrote on Facebook that this is the second incident involving one of his mother’s works in recent years.
Richard said one of her sculptures was previously smashed while on public display in Elora, leading her to seriously consider no longer participating in outdoor exhibitions.
“It took a while to restore her spirit and for her to continue to participate again,” he wrote. “This theft incident is not cool.”
He said his mother remains hopeful that “Hans” has not been destroyed. He also pointed to the reported destruction of another artist’s sculpture during this season’s Haliburton Downtown Sculpture Exhibition as a troubling sign for public art.
“What are these individuals thinking?” he wrote. “A very sad barometer of societal problems when people stoop to destroying or stealing public art.”
According to Rosalinde’s statement about “Hans” on the Fenelon Arts Committee website, the figurative sculpture began during a work session with a friend who agreed to model for her.
“Kind, wise, tall and very slim, it was a joy to work with him,” she wrote, adding the sculpture “grew so naturally” that she had no doubt when it was finished.
Born in Austria, Baumgartner fled to Switzerland during the Second World War and grew up in both countries. She emigrated to Canada with her husband and son in 1960 and later studied painting, printmaking, drawing, and sculpture while completing a bachelor of arts degree at the University of Guelph.
She works primarily in clay and is active in arts communities in Erin, Guelph, Alton, and Elora. Her clay sculpture “Embrace” was among the works selected for the 2025 Downtown Sculpture Exhibition in Fenelon Falls.
Held in partnership with the City of Kawartha Lakes, the Downtown Sculpture Exhibition features six juried works mounted on limestone rocks in garden planters along Colborne Street. The seasonal outdoor exhibition runs from May to October and is intended to make original art accessible to residents and visitors at all hours.
The Fenelon Arts Committee was founded in 2018 as part of the Kawartha Works Community Co-operative, a volunteer organization focused on improving social infrastructure in Kawartha Lakes.
The committee launched its seasonal Downtown Sculpture Exhibition in 2024.
Anyone with information, photographs or video footage, or who observed suspicious activity is encouraged to email the Fenelon Arts Committee at fenelonarts@gmail.com or message the committee through Facebook or Instagram.
Information can also be reported directly to the Ontario Provincial Police.
“Rosalinde has shown up for our village for the last three summers, sharing her work with us,” said committee chair Darcie Kennedy. “Let’s get this sculpture back where it belongs. Let’s show Rosalinde that Fenelon has her back.”
