Statue of women’s rights pioneer Emily Murphy stolen from Edmonton park

All that’s left of a life-sized bronze statue of a Canadian women’s rights pioneer are her shoes.

The statue of Emily Murphy was chopped at the ankles and stolen earlier this week from an Edmonton river valley park that bears her name.

The Edmonton Arts Council says it appears the statue was sliced using a power tool. A plaque glued to the stone platform it stood on was also taken.

“Vandalism happens, we’re pretty used to that, but actual theft of an artwork from the city collection, this is the first one that we’ve had to deal with. So it is pretty shocking,” said David Turnbull, the council’s public arts director.

The Edmonton Police Service says it’s aware of the theft and is investigating.

Murphy was Alberta’s first female judge and one of the so-called Famous Five women behind the 1929 Persons Case. The case successfully challenged laws that prevented women from being appointed to the Senate because they were not considered legal “persons.”

“I don’t know how somebody stole a statue and why, but it is kind of odd and disappointing that somebody would take something from the public park like that,” Edmontonian Thomas told CityNews.

Renee Williams, executive director of the Edmonton Arts Council, says it was “disappointed” to learn of the theft of a statue that is part of its 300-piece public art collection.

“We hope the statue is found, so we can assess the damage and determine our next steps,” Williams said.

“Our public art collection contributes to the vibrancy of our city and invigorates our public space.”

Murphy was also controversial figure as she had a history of supporting racist policies, eugenics, and once stated Indigenous people have no place in the future. Her statue was splashed with red paint and the word “racist” was written across it in 2021.

“But that’s the thing, it’s part of history, so it still needs to be there and to be understood and why at the time, right?” said Kim, another Edmontonian. “There’s no reason for the vandalism, that’s for sure.”

According to Turnbull, the motivation of stealing the statue is still unknown, or if it’s connected to the previous incident.

“We are working closely with the city right now to ensure that all the bronze that we have and all the public art that we have in the collection across the city are monitored,” Turnbull said.

The arts council says the statue was installed by an Edmonton artist in 1992 and was recently appraised at around $250,000.

–With files from The Canadian Press