Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

9 Other Pricey Art Mishaps

Pablo Picasso's 'The Actor' is hardly the first expensive accident

By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 26, 2010 12:37 PM CST

(Newser) – The art student who tripped and tore a hole in a Picasso painting is probably fairly embarrassed—but will, perhaps, feel better knowing others can sympathize. The Independent lists nine other art catastrophes, some accidental and some not:

  • Cy Twombly: A woman kissed one of his paintings, leaving it smeared with lipstick—she said she was “just trying to warm up” the white canvas.
  • Qing vase: A Cambridge museum visitor slipped down the stairs, possibly thanks to an untied shoelace, and smashed a set of 300-year-old vases.

  • Picasso again: Casino owner Steve Wynn accidentally elbowed his own Picasso, Le Rêve.
  • Piet Mondrian: A 22-year-old art student vomited over his Composition in Red, White and Blue. At first thought to be an accident, the student later said it was intentional—and did the same thing to a work by Raoul Dufy.
  • Damien Hirst: A janitor mistook his installation, full of empty beer bottles and overflowing ash trays, for trash and threw it away—it was later recovered.
For the complete list, click here.

This image provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art shows The Actor, a painting from Picasso's rose period, which was damaged by an art student.
This image provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art shows "The Actor," a painting from Picasso's rose period, which was damaged by an art student.   (ARS)
A Qing vase is displayed during the exhibition on the Chinese Qing Dynasty's 18th century Emperor Yongzheng at Taiwan's National Palace Museum, Oct. 6, 2009.
A Qing vase is displayed during the exhibition on the Chinese Qing Dynasty's 18th century Emperor Yongzheng at Taiwan's National Palace Museum, Oct. 6, 2009.   (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
A Piet Mondrian composition is shown.
A Piet Mondrian composition is shown.   (Flickr)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
67%
5%
5%
3%
3%
18%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 4 comments
Ivory
Jan 28, 2010 4:35 AM CST
"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." -Degas There is absolutely no reason why beer bottles and ashtrays could not, depending on their presentation and the artist's intent, be considered art.
SalParadise
Jan 26, 2010 8:49 AM CST
Hirst is a whore. At least Mondrian had pure artistic intentions.
spraynard
Jan 26, 2010 7:26 AM CST
ditto "composition in red white and blue."
 

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Timelines   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne