A "high value" Henry Moore bronze sculpture has been stolen from a Scottish park, in the latest string of thefts of the British artist's work in recent years.

The 1950 work, entitled "Standing Figure", was one of four Moore works in the Glenkiln Sculpture Park near Dumfries in southwest Scotland, alongside others by Auguste Rodin and Jacob Epstein.

Moore, who died in 1986 aged 88, was widely regarded as Britain's best 20th-century sculptor with his modernist, abstract works in bronze or marble that include smaller pieces in private collections and galleries around the world.

His simply titled giant creations also grace public areas worldwide, including "Large Reclining Figure" at Singapore's central business district outside the OCBC bank headquarters, the "Double Oval" at Hong Kong's Exchange Square, and "Two Piece Reclining Figure No.9" outside Canberra's National Library.

Unfortunately, his works are now being stolen, not by any ardent Moore bronze art collector, but by thieves looking for valuable scrap metal.

"Standing Figure", a 2.21-metre (seven feet, three inches) tall work, is the latest work to go missing say police, despite its location, standing tall on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Dumfriesshire countryside.

Police in Scotland said the theft took place between Thursday and Friday and they were "conducting enquiries" and appealing for information on any "suspicious activity" in the area.

Two men were jailed for a year in 2012 for stealing Moore's "Working Model for Sundial" (1965), and the bronze plinth of another work, from the grounds of the Henry Moore Foundation in Hertfordshire, north of London.

In 2005, the two-ton bronze "A Reclining Figure" (1969-1970) was stolen from the site. It was thought to be worth some US$4.8 million (3.5 million euros) but is believed to have been taken for its scrap metal value of a few thousand sterling.

The auction record for a work by the abstract artist was set last year when Moore's "Reclining Figure: Festival" (1951) bronze fetched some 9.1 million British pounds.