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A painting\u00a0by Mark Rothko has been damaged by a child during an \u201cunguarded moment,\u201d according to a Dutch museum. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The abstract painting from 1960, \u201cGrey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8\u201d, was \u201cscratched\u201d by a child visiting the Rotterdam gallery Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen where it was on display.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The museum shared a statement: \u201cThe painting Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 by Mark Rothko has sustained superficial damage after a child touched the painting when it was on display. As a result, small scratches are visible in the unvarnished paint layer in the lower part of the painting. 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the museum\u00a0declined to say how much the painting is worth, Rothko’s works<\/strong><\/a> regularly fetch millions of dollars at auction.\u00a0<\/p>\n For instance, his work \u201cUntitled, 1968\u201d sold for $23.9 million at Sotheby\u2019s in New York in November 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD) estimates \u201cGrey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8\u201d to be worth up to \u20ac50million. \u00a0<\/p>\n The costs of the repair and who will be footing the bill remain unknown. \u00a0<\/p>\n The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has previously asked visitors to cover repair costs following damage to artworks. In 2011,\u00a0a tourist who accidentally stepped on “Pindakaasvloer” (“Peanut Butter Floor”), a conceptual piece by Dutch artist Wim T. Schippers, was asked to pay for restoration.\u00a0<\/p>\n When it comes to children, however, some museums deal with accidents differently. \u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, a precious 3,500-year-old jar was accidentally shattered by a four-year-old boy<\/strong><\/a> during a visit to the Hecht Museum in northern Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n