It’s not uncommon for a work of art to be destroyed by someone who shouldn’t be holding the pen. Fortunately, in the latest incident, the damage seems easier to fix than most examples.
Artist Anna Leporskaya’s Three Figures was recently exhibited at the Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The faces in the Three Figures were blank except to give the impression of their general features only, until a bored security guard with a ballpoint pen decided that the two needed drawn eyes.
Britain’s Daily Mail shared a snapshot of the work before and after it was vandalized. Yeltsin Center has not yet commented on the subject.
The painting was borrowed from the Moscow State Tretyakov Gallery and later fell victim to a security guard who “said he was bored on his first day”, the newspaper said.
This first day of the security guard quickly turned into his last with his dismissal and the return of the artwork to the Moscow gallery. A restoration expert says the damage can be repaired, according to a statement from the Yeltsin Center. In the statement, it was stated that the guard was not appointed by the center itself, but was hired by a private security organization.
The security guard can face a $534 fine and a one-year prison sentence. Although the painting’s value is not listed, it is insured for $1 million and its restoration is estimated to cost $3,342…
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