AMHERST — A metal silhouette of Emily Dickinson, stolen from its perch at the corner of Main and Lessey streets earlier this month, was recovered over the weekend.
The silhouette, installed in 1996, is part of “Poetic Dialogue,” depicting an imagined conversation between Dickinson and Robert Frost.
According to Amherst police logs, residents of a Seelye Street home reported around 5 p.m. Saturday that the silhouette was at the edge of the woods on their property. The artwork was recovered and turned over to the Department of Public Works.
After the silhouette was noticed missing, the DPW removed the Frost silhouette for safekeeping. At the time, there was evidence that whoever took Dickinson had also made an effort to take down Frost.
Whether the artwork will be restored immediately is uncertain.
“Poetic Dialogue” was designed by artists Michael J. Virzi and Scot Charland. The silhouettes each sit on a separate boulder on the green space across from Sweetser Park and within a few hundred feet of the Emily Dickinson Museum.
The sculpture was previously repaired by local artist Kamil Peters, with a ceremonial unveiling in spring 2022.
Similar thefts or attempted thefts at the site have occurred in the past, such as in 1998, when the Frost silhouette was removed, but found dumped nearby a few days later.
Other public art in town has also been targeted. A few years ago, a fiberglass pig that formed part of a playground along Cowls Road was stolen. It was later returned, though with an ear that was damaged.
A rabbit sculpture installed at Kendrick Park in 2012 was stolen less than a week after being installed, and was never recovered.
