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A painting by American artist Mark Rothko, valued at millions of pounds, has been damaged by a child at a museum in Rotterdam. The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen said it is considering "next steps" for the treatment of Rothko's "Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8." A museum spokesperson told Dutch media that the damage occurred during an "unguarded moment."
A spokesperson for the museum said the damage was "superficial", adding: "Small scratches are visible in the unvarnished paint layer in the lower part of the painting".
The abstract painting is estimated to be worth up to €50m (£42.5m), according to newspaper AD.
"Conservation expertise has been sought in the Netherlands and abroad. We are currently researching the next steps for the treatment of the painting", the museum spokesperson said.
"We expect that the work will be able to be shown again in the future," they added.
Sophie McAloone, the conservation manager at the Fine Art Restoration Company, said that "modern unvarnished" paintings like Rothko's Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 are "particularly susceptible to damage".
This is "owing to a combination of their complex modern materials, lack of a traditional coating layer, and intensity of flat colour fields, which make even the smallest areas of damage instantly perceptible. In this case, scratching of the upper paint layers can have a significant impact on the viewing experience of the piece," Ms McAloone said.
Rachel Myrtle, Head of Specie and Fine Arts at Aon, a company that offers insurance broking to its clients, said fine art insurance policies typically cover "all risks associated with physical loss and damage to artwork".
This includes "accidental damage caused by children or visitors, albeit with certain exclusions", she said.
She said that when an artwork is damaged, a gallery's insurer will appoint a specialist fine art loss adjuster to visit the museum.
The loss adjuster typically "reviews the damage to the artwork, examines any CCTV footage to determine the exact cause of the loss, and assesses conservation options", Ms Myrtle said.
The museum did not comment on who will be held liable for the damage to the 1960 painting, which the gallery reportedly bought in the 1970s.
The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has previously billed visitors who have caused damage to artworks on display.
