Mishap
The Bored Guard Who Gave a Painting Eyes
First day on the job, ballpoint pen, avant-garde masterpiece
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Image: Unsplash
Incident ReportCOA / MISHAPS
Accidental Damage Rating
- Repair Cost
- ~$1,000 (art valued ~$1M)
- Curator's Blood Pressure
- 88%
- Embarrassment Level
- 10/10
- Recovered?
- Restored
- Selfie Involved?
- No
On his very first day, a security guard grew bored and drew two pairs of eyes in ballpoint pen on the faceless figures of Anna Leporskaya's avant-garde painting 'Three Figures'.
The guard, reportedly filling time, decided the abstract figures looked incomplete and helpfully added eyes with a pen. The 1930s work is valued at around one million dollars.
The defacement was discovered by visitors. Conservators removed the doodles, and the guard — whose art criticism outpaced his job description — was dismissed. It stands as a rare mishap that was neither fully accidental nor quite malicious: simply a man who thought he was improving things.