World of the Bizarre

Boy trips in museum, damages $1.5M painting

By T.K. Randall
August 25, 2015

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) The cringe-worthy incident, which wouldn't have looked out of place in a Mr Bean skit, saw the unsuspecting 12-year-old catching his foot and falling on to the 17th century artwork.

CCTV footage of the blunder, which was later released online by the exhibition's organizers, shows the boy anxiously looking around in disbelief after realizing what he had just done.

Fortunately however the painting, which is valued at $1.5M, was insured and the organizers have confirmed that they won't be charging the boy's family for its restoration costs.The 12-year-old joins a growing list of people who have accidentally damaged priceless museum pieces over the years. In 2006 for instance a man visiting the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge tripped over his own shoelaces and managed to smash three 300-year-old Chinese vases.

Perhaps most famous of all however was the blunder of casino mogul Steve Wynn who accidentally elbowed a 1932 Picasso masterpiece that ended up being sold for a record $155 milion.


Source: The Guardian

Tags: Museum.Painting