Child Damages Multimillion-Dollar Rothko Painting at Dutch Museum
A child damaged a prized Mark Rothko painting last Friday, April 25, while it was on display in an exhibition at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The work in question is Rothko s Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 (1960), regarded as one of the most important paintings in the museum s collection.
In a statement shared with Hyperallergic, a spokesperson for the museum explained that small scratches are visible in the unvarnished paint layer in the lower part of the painting as a result of a child touching the work, and that conservation expertise has been sought in the Netherlands and abroad.
We are currently researching the next steps for the treatment of the painting. We expect that the work will be able to be shown again in the future, the statement continued.
The spokesperson declined to provide images of the damages, as well as additional information regarding the painting s valuation and possible costs of its restoration.
Well it’s not like the child scratched a Reubens or a Raphael. Maybe he even made the painting better.