Sculptures outside Brooks Museum of Art toppled by van, Memphis police investigating

Lucas Finton, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·2 min read
Two sculptures outside of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art were toppled Saturday night after the museum said a "large van" drove into the plaza and hit them. The van, according to the museum, also hit the side of the museum and a bench in the plaza.
Two sculptures outside of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art were toppled Saturday night after the museum said a "large van" drove into the plaza and hit them. The van, according to the museum, also hit the side of the museum and a bench in the plaza.

Two sculptures outside the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art were damaged after a van drove up to the side of the museum and hit them Saturday evening, the museum said.

Nobody was injured in the incident, and Jeff Rhodin, the museum's chief revenue officer, said the museum is working with law enforcement to find out who drove the van into the museum.

"We are extremely grateful that no one was injured in this incident, particularly in light of the fact that earlier that same day, more than 3,000 people were on our plaza for our Dia De Los Muertos celebration," Rhodin said in an email statement. "We are working closely with law enforcement to determine exactly what happened and who should be held responsible for the damage, as well as with our insurance representatives to see if the damaged sculptures are repairable."

Officers with the Memphis Police Department responded to the museum at 9:21 p.m. Saturday, calling it a "hit-and-run incident" and also confirmed there were no injuries reported.

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According to the museum, the van entered the plaza area through a "small space between a tree and a series of bollards." It hit the outside of the museum building as well as a bench alongside the two sculptures.

The sculptures that were hit depicted women, wearing no clothes, and had "spring" and "fall" etched into their bases. Other statues nearby bore the other seasons on their bases.

Rhodin said more information will be provided by the Brooks when it becomes available, and that the museum has received support from Memphians and other museums.

"In the meantime, we are humbled and thankful for the enormous outpouring of support we have received, both from the people of Memphis and from our peer museums around the country," he said.

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is currently building a new location Downtown, along the Mississippi River, that is slated to offer 50% more space for the art museum. The project broke ground in June and is expected to finish construction between 2025 and 2026.

The new location will take the place of an old Memphis fire station and parking garage and has faced pushback from a group called Friends for Our Riverfront. The group is made up of Memphians who trace their ancestors to the founding of Memphis (Memphis was originally inhabited by the Chickasaw Nation before the tribe was forcibly removed).

Friends for Our Riverfront filed a lawsuit against the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in August, arguing that 200 years of previous legal precedent has been misunderstood and the city does not have the authority to build the structure on a specific piece of land, often called "the promenade."

Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson is set to rule on an injunction that would halt construction, but has not said when that ruling may be handed down.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Statues outside Brooks Museum in Memphis hit by van Saturday night