A few years ago I was in a Z Gallerie, you know, looking at the bric-a-brac; fondling a knickknack; comparing tchotchke prices. And, not looking where I was going, I accidentally kicked a ceramic pot into a display cabinet and it shattered into a bunch of tiny little pieces.
Well, the Gallerie cops busted me right then and there, and with their strict You Break It, You Bought It policy, I was the proud own of a bag of pottery shards.
Okay, that didn't really happen to me, but imagine how embarrassing that would be.
Now, imagine that you're visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art [MOMA] in New York, and you stop to admire Pablo Picasso's "The Artist." And while you staring deeply into the brush strokes, you lose your balance and tear a hole in the painting.
And the painting is appraised at $130 million. Million!
That actually happened, and now that particular painting, although it can be repaired, is appraised as a damaged piece for $65 million. Appraiser Gerard van Weyenbergh says, "It's a 50 percent loss of the value -- at least. When an artwork comes up in auction, that's the first thing people want to know -- were there any repaints or restorations.
At least they didn't make her pay for it.
I know how that feels.
Can you imagine the horror? But who grabs a multi-million dollar painting to catch their balance? I would rather do a face plant into the wall. Oh, the shame.
ReplyDeleteThis would be so bad!! Hopefully the repairs can be done with little affect to the beauty of the painting.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how they got close enough to it to do that. There are ropes and things to keep us away from the art. I know! I'm a toucher who has to restrain myself.
ReplyDeleteThis was just on "Wait, Wait!"
ReplyDelete