A 12-foot high bronze sculpture titled Space Venus by Salvador Dali, consisting of a female nude bust divided in two with a golden egg balancing on the second half, had been displayed on a Vancouver street corner since May when the golden egg was stolen on June 23.
The city's modernist Chali-Rosso Gallery, which hosts an annual Dali installation, had provided the funding for the original Dali sculpture, valued at $2.8 million, to be exhibited publicly in Vancouver until 2020 on loan from the Salvador Dali Foundation Society. The gallery's owner, Susanna Strem, discovered that the egg was missing on the morning of Sunday, June 23, telling the Vancouver Sun, "I’m in shock that it could happen here in Vancouver. It has been all around the world and nothing like this has happened.”
As the gallery announced in a Facebook statement, the egg alone has no intrinsic value, but "the loss to the sculpture...is truly monumental." This is the fifth Dali sculpture that Chali-Rosso Gallery has sponsored in Vancouver and now they may not be able to bring any more Dali sculptures to the city because of the vandalism.
Salvador Dali first created the Space Venus sculpture in 1977 and cast it in bronze in 1984. The work combined the classical nude form of the goddess of love Venus with his characteristic Surrealistic style, incorporating elements like his melting clocks around the neck and chest, ants on the abdomen, and the golden egg propped atop the womb area.
If the golden egg is returned, it can be reattached to the sculpture without causing any structural damage. The gallery is asking for any tips to be brought to the police.