Child accidentally damages $50 million Rothko at Rotterdam museum

(ROTTERDAM, Netherlands) -- Literally marked by a child’s hand, one of the Netherland’s most valuable paintings is now undergoing restoration after being accidentally damaged in a museum in Rotterdam.

The work in question -- Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 (1960) by Mark Rothko -- sustained several visible scratches in its unvarnished lower paint layer when a young child brushed against it during a visit to the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen -- a publicly accessible art storage facility connected to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

The incident occurred at the Depot, that allows visitors to view thousands of works in a visible-storage environment, where much of the collection is accessible without traditional exhibition barriers.

To many, it feels less like a formal gallery and more like a backstage pass to the museum’s inner workings -- a space where masterpieces are visible, but not always protected in the traditional sense.

The Rothko work was on display as part of Lievelingen, an exhibition featuring 70 beloved collection highlights, from Bruegel to Dalí, while the main museum is currently closed for renovations until at least 2030.

“The work by Rothko has suffered damage: a number of visible scratches in the unvarnished paint layer,” confirmed museum spokesperson Vincent Cardinaal. “It happened because a child, in an unsupervised moment, touched the lower part of the work. There was no intent. This was not vandalism.”

The child, reportedly under the age of five years old, had simply waved a hand too close to the canvas during what the museum later called an “unguarded moment.” The painting has since been removed from view and transferred to the museum’s conservation lab.

“We are currently researching the next steps for treatment and expect that the work will be able to be shown again in the future,” Cardinaal added.

This is not the first time a Rothko painting has been damaged in a public museum. In 2012, a Polish man named Vladimir Umanets wrote on Black on Maroon (1958) at the Tate Modern in London, using black ink to sign his name and added the phrase “This is Yellowism.”

Umanets said it was part of his art movement, but he was arrested and sent to prison for two years. It took 18 months and about $250,000 to repair the painting, showing just how hard it is to fix even small black marker damage on a Rothko.

The museum has declined to release photos of the damage or reveal who will cover the costs.

“We never disclose information regarding valuation, security, or insurance,” Cardinaal said. “That is standard policy -- not just here, but across most major museums in Europe.”

Though the painting has never been auctioned, one East European art collector has estimated its value between $50 and $60 million.

Acquired by the museum in 1970 -- the year Rothko died -- it is one of just two of his works held in public collections in the Netherlands.

Art crime expert Arthur Brand, known for recovering stolen masterpieces, said the damage -- though minor -- underscores the fragility of Rothko’s unvarnished surfaces.

“This wasn’t a protest or criminal act. It was a child being a child,” Brand said. “But Rothko’s surfaces are incredibly sensitive. A single swipe can mean months of restoration and tens of thousands in costs.”

Brand estimated the conservation work could range from $50,000 to $150,000 but explained that the bigger picture should not be lost.

“We should protect these works -- absolutely -- but we also need to let kids be around art. That’s how they fall in love with it,” he said.

A curator familiar with European museums and their display philosophy, who asked not to be named, offered a broader perspective.

“Given how exposed some of these works are, it’s almost surprising that these accidents don’t happen more often.”

The incident has revived questions about the risks of displaying high-value art in open-access settings. Still, the museum stands by its approach.

And as the scratched Rothko awaits restoration, Brand summed it simply.

“In every crowd of 100, there’s always one person -- or in this case, one tiny hand -- capable of a very big accident.”

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