Bored Russian Security Guard Draw With A Pen On A Million Dollar Painting
A bored Russian security guard draws eyes on a million-dollar painting on his first (and last) day on the job. The funny produced amusement across the globe.
A painting worth more than 850,000 euros (970,000 dollars) was ruined by a security guard who, out of boredom, drew two pairs of eyes on faceless figures on a painting called "Three Figures" by Anna Leporskaya.
The paintings were on display at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center in the city of Yekaterinburg in west-central Russia. Two visitors noticed the extra details on the figures and reported them to a gallery employee.
The security guard, who reportedly said he was bored on his first day of work, was instantly fired.
The painting was removed from the exhibition and returned to the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, which had loaned the painting. Restoration experts at the Tretyakov have estimated that the restoration work would cost 250,000 roubles ($4,600).
The Russian police announced that they had opened an investigation. The suspect faces a fine and up to three months in prison.
Anna Leporskaya’s "Three Figures" was painted between 1932 and 1934, and had been insured for 75 million roubles ($1.3m, £740,000).
At her turn, the curator of the exhibition, Anna Reshetkina, said that the painting was vandalized "with a Yeltsin Center-branded pen".
"His motives are still unknown but the administration believes it was some kind of a lapse in his sanity," she said.
"The ink has slightly penetrated into the paint layer since the titanium white used to paint the faces is not covered with author’s varnish, as is often the case in abstract painting of that time," Ivan Petrov wrote in the Art Newspaper.
"Fortunately, the vandal drew with a pen without strong pressure, and therefore the relief of the strokes as a whole was not disturbed. The left figure also had a small crumble of the paint layer up to the underlying layer on the face", Ivan Petrov added.
The Yeltsin Center has since installed protective screens over the remaining works in the exhibition.
A painting worth more than 850,000 euros (970,000 dollars) was ruined by a security guard who, out of boredom, drew two pairs of eyes on faceless figures on a painting called "Three Figures" by Anna Leporskaya.
The paintings were on display at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center in the city of Yekaterinburg in west-central Russia. Two visitors noticed the extra details on the figures and reported them to a gallery employee.
The security guard, who reportedly said he was bored on his first day of work, was instantly fired.
The painting was removed from the exhibition and returned to the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, which had loaned the painting. Restoration experts at the Tretyakov have estimated that the restoration work would cost 250,000 roubles ($4,600).
The Russian police announced that they had opened an investigation. The suspect faces a fine and up to three months in prison.
Anna Leporskaya’s "Three Figures" was painted between 1932 and 1934, and had been insured for 75 million roubles ($1.3m, £740,000).
What Happened With The Painting Damaged By the Bored Guard
Alexander Drozdov, the executive director of the Yeltsin Center, did not identify the guard in the statement but said he was working for a private security firm and was fired.At her turn, the curator of the exhibition, Anna Reshetkina, said that the painting was vandalized "with a Yeltsin Center-branded pen".
"His motives are still unknown but the administration believes it was some kind of a lapse in his sanity," she said.
"The ink has slightly penetrated into the paint layer since the titanium white used to paint the faces is not covered with author’s varnish, as is often the case in abstract painting of that time," Ivan Petrov wrote in the Art Newspaper.
"Fortunately, the vandal drew with a pen without strong pressure, and therefore the relief of the strokes as a whole was not disturbed. The left figure also had a small crumble of the paint layer up to the underlying layer on the face", Ivan Petrov added.
The Yeltsin Center has since installed protective screens over the remaining works in the exhibition.
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