An art museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands, has released a statement after a painting on display there suffered “superficial” damage caused by a child. The damage was caused when the child touched the painting in an “unguarded moment”, a spokesperson for the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen told news outlets. The painting created by American artist Mark Rothko is called Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 and is reported to be worth around €50 million, which is around £42 million.
The museum has said that small scratches are now visible on the unvarnished paint layer in the lower part of the painting. In a statement shared with UK media outlets, a spokesperson said: “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.”
The painting has been removed from display following the incident. The painting was completed in 1960 and is 7 feet, 6 inches high by 8 feet, 6 inches wide in size.
The museum has not commented on who will front the cost of the damage caused to the painting. They said in a statement: “Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen provides no information on the valuation of the painting, the possible costs associated with the conservation of the painting or the further handling of this matter.”
The painting was estimated to be worth as much as €50 million (£42 million) by Dutch art collector Bert Kreuk three years ago. The artist, Rothko, died in 1970.
The artwork was the centrepiece of the museum’s collection and remained on display after the building had closed for extensive renovation works. The painting was then moved to a nearby art storage facility along with the rest of the museum’s collection and remained on show to the public.
Conservation manager at the Fine Art Restoration Company Sophie McAloone told the BBC that paintings like this are particularly vulnerable to damage. She explained that this is due to “a combination of their complex modern materials, lack of a traditional coating layer, and intensity of flat colour fields, which make even the smallest areas of damage instantly perceptible”.