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The museum declined to comment on who will be responsible for the cost of the damages
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/IMG_0089-10b59c2ded724bb49e6350acc88c5481.JPG "Child Scratches Rothko Painting Worth $56 Million in 'Unguarded Moment' at Museum (1)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x355:751x357):format(webp)/grey-orange-on-maroon-no-8-mark-rothko-042825-1-13efa1cd6d344771a7b11b1eba85903f.jpg "Child Scratches Rothko Painting Worth $56 Million in 'Unguarded Moment' at Museum (2)")
- A child in The Netherlands has damaged a Mark Rothko painting at a museum in Rotterdam
- The painting, reportedly worth about $56 million, was scratched by a child in an "unguarded moment," the museum told U.K. newspaper The Times
- The painting dates back to 1960
A kid in the Netherlands could be in time out for a while.
The unnamed child is responsible for damaging a 1960 Mark Rothko painting reportedly worth about $56 million inside the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum in Rotterdam.
“The painting Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 by Mark Rothko has sustained superficial damage after a child touched the painting when it was on display," the museum said in a statement to PEOPLE. "As a result, small scratches are visible in the unvarnished paint layer in the lower part of the painting."
The museum added, "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."
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:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/king-willem-alexander-of-the-netherlands-grey-orange-on-maroon-no-8-mark-rothko-042825-1-5dbc3e246cdb40108f20618bffb16c63.jpg "Child Scratches Rothko Painting Worth $56 Million in 'Unguarded Moment' at Museum (3)")
The museum told U.K. newspaper The Times that the damage "was caused by a child who scratched the underside of the work in an unguarded moment."
The painting was previously described by curator Saskia van Kampen-Prein as “a meditative and striking color landscape” in a March 31 Instagram video from the museum.
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The museum did not name the child involved in the incident. It also declined to comment on who would be responsible for the cost of the damage.
"Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen provides no information on the valuation of the painting, the possible costs associated with the conservation of the painting or the further handling of this matter," the museum said, adding that it will not be releasing images of the damage.
Rothko, a famed abstract expressionist painter, died in 1970.
His works have sold for millions at auction with the highest being $86.9 million in 2012 for his piece Orange, Red, Yellow, according to Art News.
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:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/museum-boijmans-van-beuningen-042825-1-1de7809d60fe45f3ae6e7541a3a9035c.jpg "Child Scratches Rothko Painting Worth $56 Million in 'Unguarded Moment' at Museum (4)")
This isn’t the first time a piece at the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum has been damaged.
In2011, multiple visitors accidentally stepped on the Peanut-Butter Platform, tracking the peanut butter across the floor.
At the time, the museum reportedly said those responsible for the damage were asked to cover the cost of the clean up.
