CRESTVIEW — The library seeks a sculptor or welder skilled in bronze statue restoration.
Someone recently vandalized “The Whiz Kid,” and Crestview Public Library staffers and patrons aren’t happy.
The bronze-coated sculpture, one of the few pieces of public art in the city, was donated to the library by the Friends of the Library and sits on a brick base near the Commerce Drive building's main entrance.
Reference librarian Sandra Dreaden said the vandalism included removal of the open book the mortarboard-wearing boy with oversized spectacles was reading.
“I’m very sad about this,” Library Director Jean Lewis said. “He’s just perfect for what we want to represent our library.”
The book was found in landscaping near the library, Lewis said, and was turned in to library staffers.
Now, it's time to fix the statue, but that could be challenging.
“We need to find a welder who can weld with bronze to put it back in place,” Lewis said.
Dreaden said closer inspection shows someone may also have chipped at the sculpture, resulting in damage to the bronze finish in spots, allowing rust to form on the underlying metal.
Library staffers are inquiring at the Northwest Florida State College Humanities Division to find someone skilled in sculpture restoration.
The sculpture in The Circus at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center was vandalized several years ago and was restored, and Dreaden said she hopes the college can put the library in touch with the restorer.
While the library hunts for an artist to help restore the sculpture, library patrons mourn the damage to a piece of art that has charmed residents since its 2010 installation.
“It's too bad that a bunch of thuggish hoodlums make it impossible for us to have nice public places,”patron Salome Otterbourne said.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Welder wanted: Sculpture vandalism disappoints Crestview library staffers, patrons