Confusion over sale of Yorkshire sculpture

A council which is planning to sell a Henry Moore sculpture, which is on display in Yorkshire, may not have the right to sell it and may not even own it, an arts charity has said.

Lutfur Rahman, mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London, decided to sell the council-owned Draped Seated Woman in an attempt to claw back money lost in budget cuts.

The sculpture, known as Old Flo, was originally sold to London County Council by Mr Moore at a below-market price in the 1960s on the understanding it would be placed in east London. The work of art is on display just a few miles from Moore's hometown of Castleford at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Tower Hamlets assumed responsibility for it after Greater London Council was abolished and it has been loaned to Yorkshire Sculpture Park for the last 15 years.

A spokeswoman for the Art Fund said it was not clear that the council has the right to sell the sculpture.

The council should "consider all options" including moving the work into a museum instead of selling, she said.

The council has acknowledged it was a "tough decision" but one made due to the "massive government cuts we are facing".