Director Danny Boyle joins campaign to restore Henry Moore sculpture to gritty east London

LONDON – Director Danny Boyle has joined leading British arts figures urging a cash-strapped local authority not to sell off a valuable Henry Moore sculpture — arguing it should be erected in London's Olympic Park instead.

"Draped Seated Woman" is owned by London's Tower Hamlets Council and stood for years on a public housing complex in the city's East End.

It was moved in 1997 to a sculpture park in northern England.

Last month the council announced plans to sell the artwork to offset funding cuts. Estimates of its value range from 5 million pounds to 20 million pounds ($8 million to $32 million).

Boyle, who directed London Olympics' opening ceremony, said Monday that the sculpture was priceless because it "defies all prejudice in people's minds about one of London's poorest boroughs."