Civic sculpture vandalised - and quickly cleaned up

A moustache and beard were added to the sculpture. Picture: Supplied

She's sweet, she's whimsical - and then she was defaced.

One of Canberra's most popular examples of public art - The Other Side of Midnight in Civic, near The Canberra Times Fountain - was vandalised some time this week.

Someone had drawn a moustache and beard on the cherubic face of the painted doll, the main part of the sculpture, by Melbourne artist Anne Ross.

The sculpture includes a carousel dog on either side of the doll, linking it to the nearby Civic merry-go-round.

The Other Side of Midnight was unveiled in December, 2012, delighting young and old since.

The doll's face was back to new Thursday morning. Picture: Supplied

This week's graffiti was reminiscent of the Guy Fawkes mask used by the activist group Anonymous.

So whether someone was making a political statement or just being plain and simply stupid, we'll probably never know.

Our bet is on the latter.

The good news is the artsACT team swung into action and the graffiti was removed on Thursday morning, with the doll's face back to its pristine best.