April 28 (UPI) — Dutch curators are considering “next steps” after a child damaged a $56 million painting by American artist Mark Rothko while visiting a museum in Rotterdam.
“The work by Rothko — Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 — has suffered damage: a number of visible scratches in the unvarnished paint layer,” a spokesperson at the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen confirmed. “It happened because a child, in an unsupervised moment, touched the lower part of the work.”
The painting from 1960 was being displayed at the museum’s Depot as the main building undergoes renovations, which are expected to be completed in 2030.
Rothko’s abstract paintings, known for their “floating color fields,” were produced from 1949 until 1970, when the artist died. Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 was acquired by Boijmans in 1970. It is one of only two Rothko paintings in the Netherlands and is among the museum’s most valuable pieces.
Boijmans, which is keeping the identity of the child and parents private, has not determined who will pay for the painting’s repair. In the past, the museum has billed visitors who damaged artworks on display, as fine art insurance policies typically cover “all risks associated with physical loss and damage to artwork.”
That includes “accidental damage caused by children or visitors, albeit with certain exclusions,” said Rachel Myrtle, head of Specie and Fine Arts of Aon.
Restoration experts are currently working to determine the best course of action to repair the Rothko painting before it can be displayed again.
“We expect that the work will be able to be shown again in the future,” the museum spokesperson told BBC. “Conservation expertise has been sought in the Netherlands and abroad. We are currently researching the next steps for the treatment of the painting.”
Modern, unvarnished paintings are “particularly susceptible to damage,” according to Sophie McAloone, conservation manager at the Fine Art Restoration Company.
This is “owing to a combination of their complex modern materials, lack of a traditional coating layer and intensity of flat color fields, which make even the smallest areas of damage instantly perceptible,” McAloone added.
“In this case, scratching of the upper paint layers can have a significant impact on the viewing experience of the piece.”
