Woman Collides With a Picasso (at the Metropolitan)

[demoleft]

Source: nytimes

On Friday afternoon a woman taking an adult education class at the Metropolitan Museum of Art accidentally lost her balance and fell into “The Actor,” right, a rare Rose Period Picasso, tearing the canvas about six inches along its lower right-hand corner. Immediately after the accident the painting was taken to the Met’s conservation studio so experts could assess the damage, museum officials said. A statement released by the Met on Sunday afternoon said, “The damage did not occur in the focal point of the composition and the curatorial and conservation staffs fully expect that the repair — which will take place in the coming weeks — will be unobtrusive.”
...

The museum declined to identify the woman, but said she was not injured.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/arts/design/25arts-WOMANCOLLIDE_BRF.html

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[cali]

1. I feel for her.

When I was a kid I was rough housing with my siblings and crashed into a life size painting hanging in my parents house, ripping a large gash in it. Of course it wasn't a Picasso, but man did I feel horrible.

[tomm2thumbs]

2. start 15 minutes of fame counter...now (tick tick tick...)

I'm guessing the morning talk shows are on it

[mwb970]

3. It would be a shame to lose such a lovely painting. /nt

[demoleft]

4. GD presidency?! are you sure you moved this thread on the right forum? :) n/t

[rfranklin]

5. Picasso for President!

Too bad he's dead.

[demoleft]

6. hehe. :) n/t

[rasputin1952]

7. Not enough caffeine this AM...

sorry about the mixup...:blush:

:D

[demoleft]

8. :) n/t

[marshall]

9. Where were the docents when they are needed?

When I was in college on a study abroad in London my class was studying a painting in the Tate Gallery. One of my classmates pointed with a pen at a part of the painting as she was commenting about it. She was no more than twelve inches from the canvas and a docent seemed to leap out of thin air and snatch that pen from her hand.

It's a shame that in order to have these works of art available to be fully appreciated they must be left vulnerable to accidental and/or intentional damage.

[KittyWampus]

10. at the very least, cordoning. Though I do love the Met and feel uneasy about criticizing it.

[CTyankee]

12. I was pointing to the lower section of a Caravaggio work in the Uffizi

and it was even roped off so I couldn't get close enough to touch it and a guard came over huffing at me. From then on I kept my hand gestures small...mostly with my arms by my side...

At the Reina Sofia there is one room for Picasso's "Guernica" and if you move too close to the painting (which is on a low platform) an alarm automatically sounds and guards order people away. I think they fear some Basque terrorists as well as sloppy tourists...

[kwassa]

15. I saw "Guernica" on a slow weekday at MoMA, before it was returned

to Spain.

It was just me and the guard watching me in the room. Then, this woman comes careening around the corner, stares at one of the most famous paintings of the 20th century, and declares in the thickest of Brooklynn accents:

"THEY CALL THIS AHHHT?? THEY CALL THIS AHHHT?? MY TWO YEAR-OLD COULD DO BETTAH THAN THIS!"

The guard and I both broke out laughing. The woman looked indignant and walked away.

[CTyankee]

16. God, I wish I had seen it when it was in New York. What was the matter with me?

Wonderful story about Picasso and that painting. During WW2 Picasso lived in occupied Paris and made up postcards of "guernica" to pass out to the German soldiers who would regularly harass him in his studio. When he handed a postcard to one officer (who seemd to be genuinely impressed), the officer said "You did this?" to which picasso replied, "No. You did."

It's one of those stories that even if it isn't true, it SHOULD be!

[bitchkitty]

11. Whoa! If they are not protecting it,

and that this even happened shows they're not on the job, IMO, then I'll take it!

[closeupready]

13. No big loss there.

Seeing as how it's Picasso. :sarcasm: J/K.

[JVS]

14. How embarrassing it must have been for her.

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. wow.. how embarrassing