The statue that the descendants of the Brno industrialist August Löw-Beer were searching for has been found

Brno - The statue sought by the descendants of Brno industrialist and philanthropist August Löw-Beer has been found. The director of the Museum of the City of Brno, Zbyněk Šolc, confirmed to Czech Radio Brno that it is stored in the museum's depository in Vyškov. At the beginning of February, the descendants of the family announced a reward of one million crowns for the statue's recovery. The work by Italian sculptor Antonio Tantardini stood in the hall of the villa on Hlinky Street in Brno until 2011, when an infant institute moved out of the villa.

Šolc did not disclose the circumstances under which the statue ended up in Vyškov. "He did, however, announce that the approximately one and a half meter tall sculpture featuring a woman and a child on a pedestal is in good condition. No one stole it, and no one broke it," the server iROZHLAS.cz reported.

"The public call from last week garnered an extraordinary response across the country. Thanks to sharing, media attention, and specific suggestions from the public, the statue was identified just two days after the announcement was made," wrote South Moravian representative Michal Doležel (TOP 09) on Facebook, who is authorized to act on behalf of the family. According to him, a public presentation of the statue is now being prepared, which will take place as soon as the grandchildren of August Löw-Beer arrive in the Czech Republic.

"The finding of the statue is very emotional for the family. Some of the grandchildren last saw it in 1992 during their first visit to Brno. After that, they considered the statue irretrievably lost," Doležel added. He previously stated that the family wishes for the statue to be returned to the villa after it is found, "where it could once again serve as a symbol and reminder of the fate of one of the iconic Brno families of the 20th century."

August Löw-Beer had the villa built in 1922 and lived there with his family until 1938 when he fled from the Nazis. The building was then confiscated by the Gestapo, and after the war, it was nationalized, with the Czechoslovak state establishing an infant institute within it.