Thursday – March 18, 2021

Another rainy day, after three quarters of an inch of rain overnight. It continued to be wet all day, moving from drizzle, to rain, to drizzle to downpour. So, I have no pictures of the miserable horses, but plenty of miserable birds today.

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And now, since there is really nothing of interest to report today (taxes are really boring and painful), I will tell the story of the thefts of Harry’s sculptures.

Harry was not always a sculptor, though he has always been an artist. But to pay the bills, he worked in the world of business for many years. He discovered fox hunting, and was hooked. He had always loved riding, and had owned a couple of horses in his life, but once he crossed paths with Ed and Lil Lewis, they showed him how horses following foxhounds could provide an adrenaline high. He joined the Bridlespur Hunt Club, and before long, he was a Master of Foxhounds.

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This was before we were together. Anyway, someone asked Harry if he could make a plaster foxhound as a centerpiece for the Hunt Ball. Each hound could be painted to look like a particular individual in the pack. Harry thought he could do it, and decided to learn about sculpture and mold making from a St. Louis artist named Robert Walker (funnily enough, the same name as Bridlespur’s longtime huntsman, who had retired just before Harry took up hunting). Needless to say, those centerpieces were a hit, and Harry discovered that he loved three dimensional art.

Subsequently, Harry created two “sporting art” pieces. First, Foxhound At Work, and then Coyote. They were cast in bronze, not mere plaster. Several Hunt Club members asked to purchase copies.

Harry was going to New York for work (as a consultant, in those long ago times). He took the bronze sculptures with him, and showed them to Knoud’s, a saddlery store that catered to equestrians, handling tack and clothing, and artwork. They liked the bronzes, and took them to sell on consignment.

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Well, Knoud’s was robbed! They had several Remington bronzes and other famous sculptures stolen. Also, the two Harry Weber pieces. Insurance paid for the artwork, and Harry felt flattered that the thieves believed his work was in the league of some legendary sculptors. Sometimes he jokes that they must have been very disappointed, but I don’t think so.

You might suggest that the Knoud’s theft confirmed Harry’s idea that he could make and sell art. Certainly, he made a profit when Knoud’s paid through the insurance!

It took many years before Harry became a full time sculptor, but he continued to make sporting art, and gained acclaim and skill, selling several pieces every year. Our farm was called Bronze Fox Farm because we foxhunted and he made bronzes.

Harry was commissioned to make a life sized fox for Fox Run Golf Club in Eureka, and when we moved here, we put a cast of that fox, which had a colored patina, on the top of our mailboxes. The best picture of it was taken when it was encased in ice.

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That fox stayed in place for several years, until it was stolen one day in broad daylight while we were gone to town for a couple of hours. It was there when we left, and gone when we returned. A neighbor had seen a red truck. We called the police, but the sculpture was never found.

Now, we have a cast of that same fox, but with a plain patina, halfway down the driveway, where it is less visible, and it is anchored deep into the tree that it sits on.

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There you have the story of Harry’s two incidents of artwork thefts!

Stay safe, stay well. Peace.