Artwork that was on display when the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden opened 25 years ago has been damaged by metal thieves in Orlando, Fla.

Artist Peter Shelton’s “BLACKVAULTfalloffstone” sat in the sculpture garden from 1988 to 1993, the California-based artist said last week. It originally was commissioned for the 1988 dedication of the 11-acre garden outside the Walker Art Center.

But since leaving the sculpture garden, the work has effectively been in limbo. Shelton said the sculpture was dismantled and given to the city of Orlando, but there were “unresolved issues” about where to display it, as well as questions of liability should someone climb on it and be injured.

It sat in a city-owned storage yard until, according to the Orlando Sentinel, officials taking stock of the yard’s inventory in August discovered that a piece of it was missing. A human-shaped aluminum figure, balancing precariously on a large granite boulder, had been severed at the ankles, apparently by metal thieves. (The work has a second part, a minivan-size concrete hut mounted on stilts.)

The Sentinel said the work was insured for $175,000 with a $10,000 deductible, though Shelton said he wasn’t aware of the amount. He said he never charged the city for it but gave it to the city conditionally, with the understanding that it eventually display it.

“This is a work that could be restored. … And first and foremost, I’m interested in the longevity of my work,” Shelton said. “They seem to think that once your kid leaves home, whatever happens to your kid is not your concern. … Definitely there’s certain kinds of good faith issues, and a question of (what constitutes) good public stewardship.”

Representatives of the city could not be reached for comment late last week.