A child damaged a prized Mark Rothko painting last Friday, April 25, while it was on display in an exhibition at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The work in question is Rothko’s “Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8” (1960), regarded as one of the most important paintings in the museum’s collection.
In a statement shared with Hyperallergic, a spokesperson for the museum explained that “small scratches are visible in the unvarnished paint layer in the lower part” of the painting as a result of a child touching the work, and that 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 statement continued.
The spokesperson declined to provide images of the damages, as well as additional information regarding the painting’s valuation and possible costs of its restoration.
As first reported by the Dutch daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD), the incident occurred during an “unguarded moment” while the painting was on display as a part of the Lievelingen exhibition at the Depot, which is the museum’s public access art storage facility. While the actual institution undergoes major renovations expected to be completed by 2029, it has continued to make its collections accessible through the climate-controlled Depot.
The museum acquired Rothko’s “Grey, Orange on Maroon” in 1970, the same year the artist died, and the painting is now estimated to be valued at $40–$50 million, according to AD.
The work was the highlight of the Stedelijk Museum’s Rothko & Me exhibition between 2019 and 2020 in Amsterdam, where visitors could queue up to have 10 minutes of one-on-one, device-free time with the painting in a private room.