Artist Rhonda Roland Shearer wanted to show off one of her prized sculptures — a massive vase with flowers — to her grandchildren.
But the proud-grandmother moment turned into shock when she walked into the lobby of the Midtown office building where her bronze had been displayed for two decades only to find her vision destroyed.
“I saw that all the plants were gone,” she said. “I saw my name still there and the title of the work, and I thought, ‘This just can’t be real.’ ”
The bronze flowers were replaced by real ones, and they were wilted. The vase had been turned chocolate brown, likely with a wax, she said.
The culprit turned out to be the billionaire art collector and owner of the Madison Avenue building, Leonard Stern.
When Shearer, 59, confronted Stern last week, he readily admitted to altering her work and delivered more bad news — a similar vase was now in the trash. Stern paid about $75,000 for both pieces in 1987.
“He sent it to his country house, and then the maids broke it a few times, and he got tired of fixing it and threw it out,” Shearer said.
While a real-estate mogul might be able to do what he pleases with the Picassos hanging in his home, public art is a different matter.
A 1983 state law prohibits the public display of art that is “altered, defaced, mutilated or modified” if damage to the artist’s reputation is “reasonably likely.” A similar federal law took effect in 1991.
The laws give disgruntled artists the right to sue, said Richard Altman, a Manhattan lawyer who specializes in art law.
“These statutes are based on the idea that the artist’s reputation is damaged by such displays,” he said.
Stern told The Post that he was unaware of the law and had the flowers removed because workers in the building said the piece was too dull and the space needed more color. He said he didn’t know, until Shearer asked, that the bronze flowers were cut up and discarded. He denied changing the color of the vase.
“She thinks I created a crime against art, and, really, I’m a passionate collector,” Stern said. “I apologized to her. I don’t think I should be abused for what happened innocently.”
It took Shearer three years to sculpt the piece and some 30 other bronze still lifes for her first solo exhibit in 1987.
Creating the delicate flowers and leaves was challenging, and several foundries turned her down before she found one in Bridgeport, Conn.
Shearer’s sculptures were a hit, and the actors Albert Finney and Larry Hagman became collectors.
Shearer, a Soho resident, said she didn’t think she could afford legal action against a billionaire.
“You just never think that your major work would just be discarded in such a way,” she said. “It feels violating.”
Her 8-year-old grandson, Joe Deehan, shared her pain.
“They should be ashamed of themselves!” he told her.