Results for “accidental”
A Child, a Canvas, and a Very Bad Afternoon
Every guard's nightmare: an unsupervised child, a moment of momentum, and a hole punched clean through a priceless modern painting.
Ecce Mono: The Monkey Christ
Well-meaning parishioner Cecilia Giménez attempted to touch up a flaking fresco of Christ and produced 'Ecce Mono' — a hazy, simian visage that became a global sensation.
The Visitor Who Fell Into a Picasso
During an adult education class at the Met, a woman lost her balance and fell directly into Picasso's 'The Actor', opening a six-inch tear in the lower canvas.
The Bored Guard Who Gave a Painting Eyes
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 Tourist Who Sat on the Crystal Chair
A visitor lowered himself onto Nicola Bolla's Swarovski-crystal-encrusted 'Van Gogh' chair to strike a pose. The chair, which was art and not furniture, promptly gave way beneath him.
The Cleaner Who Binned the Art
A diligent cleaner scrubbed away a carefully applied patina from a Martin Kippenberger installation, mistaking the artwork for a dirty stain — a recurring hazard of conceptual art.
The $200,000 Selfie Domino
A visitor crouched for a photo beside a row of crown-topped pedestals, lost her balance, and set off a domino collapse down the entire line of sculptures.
The Shattered Balloon Dog
A collector at a Miami art fair gave Jeff Koons's porcelain 'Balloon Dog (Blue)' an inquisitive tap. It wobbled off its pedestal and shattered into a heap of shards.
"Kansas City Reach Around" now costs $132,000!
During a wedding reception, a five-year-old boy wrapped his arms around Bill Lyons' six-foot glass sculpture 'Aphrodite di Kansas City'. Seconds later it tipped forward and shattered beyond repair.
The Pine Cone vs. the Floating Boulder
A young visitor reportedly carried a pine cone in from the museum garden and accidentally punctured René Magritte's 'The Castle of the Pyrenees', one of Surrealism's most celebrated images.