A family’s insurance has paid $107,000 after a five-year-old boy knocked over an artist’s sculpture.
Sarah Goodman was hit with a $132,000 fine when her son Troy knocked over a sculpture called Aphrodite di Kansas City, which was on display at Overland Park community center in Kansas City, Kansas.
Surveillance footage showed her son, who was not being supervised, climbing up on the sculpture until it toppled over.
The boy is shown above on surveillance footage approaching the sculpture and putting his arms around it as his mother sits on a sofa nearby
He then ran away as his mother approached to see what had happened
Goodman refuted the charge and argued that the sculpture, by artist Bill Lyons, was not properly secured.
Now, the Goodman’s home insurers have stepped in to end the dispute, agreeing to pay $107,000.
Overland Park spokesman Sean Reilly says the city plans to send $99,000 to Lyons, who created ‘Aphrodite di Kansas City.’ Reilly says that’s the amount Lyons would’ve received had the sculpture sold at the center’s art fair.
The Kansas City Star reports the boy’s mother, Sarah Goodman, said Saturday she hadn’t been told by her insurer that the money was paid.
Surveillance footage showed Troy toddling up towards the statue and wrap his arms around it while his mother Shannon Goodman and other adults chatted on sofas nearby.
Goodman, who appeared on British show This Morning over video link, said at the time her family shouldn’t foot the bill because Troy hadn’t intended to cause damage.
Speaking on This Morning, Sarah Goodman said she shouldn’t pay the $132,000 fine because the sculpture wasn’t properly secured. Her insurance has since settled the claim
She explained: ‘As his mother and as my husband as his father, I know we’re ultimately responsible for damages that our children cause.
‘If my child intentionally defaced property we would absolutely figure out a way to put ourselves out there to be responsible and pay for the damages to make sure the lesson was reinforced without any question.
‘In this particular situation our five-year-old was just being a little kid and there was no malice or intention to damage any property.’
Viewers said that Goodman was to blame for the accident for not keeping an eye on her son.
This is the sculpture the boy knocked over. It is called Aphrodite Di Kansas City and is made of glass and pieces of mirror. The artist says the top of it was damaged when he pulled it over
One tweeted: ‘100% she should pay the fine, should be keeping control of her kid.’
‘Supervise your OWN child at all times!!’ another posted.
Goodman revealed that she was now looking at using her homeowner’s insurance to pay the fine, but still thought it was too high a price to pay.
During the incident, Troy accidentally pulled the sculpture towards him and it toppled over on to him, causing damage to the back of the figure’s head and arms.
It left him with scratches on his face. In the video, he sheepishly looked towards his mother after the accident.
Lyons had loaned the sculpture to the city of Overland Park to put on display. It was the city’s representatives who contacted Goodman asking for her to pay.
She had expected the sculpture to be much less valuable and was stunned when she received a letter from the city’s insurance company.
‘It’s clear accidents happen and this was an accident. I don’t want to diminish the value of their art. But I can’t pay for that,’ she told The Kansas City Star.
She explained that she was saying goodbye to the bride’s father when her son wandered off towards the statue but insisted he and his three siblings, who were also there, are always well behaved.
The artwork was titled ‘Aphrodite di Kansas City.’ In a June 14 interview with The Star, Lyons said he had not had the artwork professionally appraised and did not personally insure it.
He said the project took two years to complete and was the most ambitious, expensive work he had ever attempted. He said he had established the $132,000 price tag because he felt that was what it was worth. The sculpture was made of small pieces of glass and other materials, and Lyons considered it to be unique.