$164,990 Mastic Beach home comes with whale sculpture in front yard

A house with a sculpture of a whale in the front yard is on the market in Mastic Beach for $164,990.

“Bella The Whale” was done by the late artist Reu'ven Gayle, who lived in the house for many years. "Bella," which is made of polymer clay covering wood, is posed with her head and tail showing while the rest of her body appears to be below the water (or, rather, under the front lawn).

The idea for the sculpture came from a nature television program show Gayle had been watching about the migration of Beluga whales in the Arctic Ocean, according to a 1999 article written by the artist about his creation. "The whale put me through a summer of physical agony, but it was great," he wrote. "Through the entire sculpture process, I met lots of interesting passers-by, made some new friends and got a couple of other jobs to work on."

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch-style contains an updated electric panel box. The detached garage, with a trompe l’oeil painting of a vintage car on the door, was used as the artist’s studio.

The house is on a half-acre.

It is listed with Donna Lomenzo of Coldwell Banker M&D Good Life.