Art galleries aren’t everyone’s thing. I have friends who are art-lovers, who could walk around exhibitions for ages, and I have friends who would rather do literally anything else. No matter your opinion on art, though, it’s still known practice to not mess with any that you see, no matter how much you love or hate it.
That was not the opinion held by a security guard at a Russian gallery, who tampered with a painting simply out of boredom.
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A pricy avant-garde painting was vandalized in December of last year.
Anna Leporskaya’s ‘Three Figures’ (1932–1934) was on display at the Yeltsin Center in the city of Yekaterinburg, Russia, as part of an abstract exhibit called ‘The World as Non-Objectivity. The Birth of a New Art’.
That was until two visitors noticed something strange one day.
When they arrived at ‘Three Figures’, they spotted something amiss with the painting.
Someone had added eyes to the back two figures. The guests notified staff immediately, who swiftly took the painting down and returned it to State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, where it had been on loan from for the exhibit, to begin an investigation into the vandalism.
The details regarding what happened were only just released.
The painting was said to be defaced by a security guard. Though he has not been named, he’s believed to have been about 60 years old, worked for a private security company, and drew the eyes on the painting because he was ‘bored’ during his first day.
He has since been fired.
Being fired might be the least of his troubles soon.
The painting he defaced has quite the price tag on it. Though its exact worth is unknown, it’s insured for ₽74.9 million, which comes out to just over $1 million.
The vandalism investigation continues. Should he be found guilty, the ex-security guard could face a fine of approximately $534 and a one-year correctional labor sentence.
What about the painting?
In a statement, the Yeltsin Center said , “The painting is being restored, the damage, according to the expert, can be eliminated without consequences for the work of art.”
The restoration is going to cost an estimated $3335, a cost the security company the vandal worked for will reportedly be covering.
h/t: Daily Mail
