Latest news with #DepotBoijmansVanBeuningen
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on a new era for museums: letting the public take control
The museum of the future has arrived and it looks like an Amazon warehouse. But art critics have unanimously awarded it five stars. From Saturday, visitors to the V&A East Storehouse in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will be able to wander among the 250,000 objects in the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection that are not on display in its west London home. The headline-grabbing order-an-object initiative means you can book online to get your hands (gloves are provided) on a priceless artefact any day you like. And all for free. It is a triumph born out of necessity. After the V&A's eviction from their Kensington storage home a decade ago, they decided that instead of hiding one of the world's largest design collections in an expensive warehouse, they would turn it into an attraction in its own right. Storage is a big issue for institutions: only 1% of the British Museum's more than 8m artefacts are on public display. Showing off your overflowing attic makes the most of what you've already got, repurposing a closet that, for the V&A, includes a Balenciaga gown (the most requested item so far) and PJ Harvey's hotpants. Open-access storage is not a new idea. In 2021, the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam became the first purpose-built (and presumably the only Ikea-salad bowl-inspired) public art-storage destination. The V&A Storehouse takes a leap further. You are invited behind the scenes of the museum, where everything is jumbled together and conservators are at work – a giant version of the BBC's The Repair Shop. Like the children who run away to New York's Metropolitan Museum for a week in EL Konigsburg's classic 1967 novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler, visitors are able to explore freely. 'We wanted people to feel like they're trespassing,' said Tim Reeve, the deputy director of the V&A. 'That feeling of joy, seeing behind the curtain.' Part of the V&A's mission was to inspire innovation, to be a bit radical. Ordering an object is a user-friendly way of engaging newcomers, not just a click-and-collect for art lovers. Like Sadler's Wells, which also launched a Stratford venue earlier this year, the V&A hopes to draw in a younger audience who may have felt excluded from its stately South Kensington home. A sister V&A East Museum will open close to the Storehouse next year. Putting everything on show cannot get over uncomfortable questions about the provenance of a museum's acquisitions. But it does give transparency to how the museum works and what – down to every last pin – it has got. This week, Manchester Museum won the European museum of the year award for its own approach to opening up the curatorial process. As part of its revamp in 2023, the museum handed its new South Asia gallery to a collective of 30 people from Manchester's diaspora communities to design and fill as they chose. The top floor has been given over to a college for neurodivergent students, with a London campus opening at the Design Museum in September. The pandemic, as well as funding and sponsorship crises and anxieties over legacy, have put institutions under pressure. Both the V&A East Storehouse and Manchester Museum show bold new ways forward. They mark a shift in how museums perceive their role. They remind us that these collections are our collections. Fill your basket.
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
Child accidentally damages $50 million Rothko at Rotterdam museum
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.'
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Child accidentally damages $50 million Rothko at Rotterdam museum
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. MORE: Gustav Klimt portrait found after vanishing nearly 100 years ago 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. MORE: Beer can artwork accidentally trashed by museum worker 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. MORE: 'Complete mystery' as 1,800-year-old ancient Roman statue dug up in UK parking lot MORE: 200-year-old 'national treasure' stolen from storage unit as police hunt for missing portrait of George Washington '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. MORE: 4 charged after fully functional solid gold toilet called 'America' stolen from Winston Churchill's birthplace '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.' MORE: Solid gold toilet worth over $1 million stolen from Winston Churchill's birthplace 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.' Child accidentally damages $50 million Rothko at Rotterdam museum originally appeared on
RNZ News
29-04-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Child damages Mark Rothko painting in Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam
By Lianne Kolirin , CNN King Willem Alexander stands in front of Mark Rothko's Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 during a tour of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen when it opened in November 2021. Photo: AFP/Koen Van Weel A huge painting by Mark Rothko, thought to be worth tens of millions of dollars, has been removed from display in a Dutch museum after it was damaged by a visiting child. Conservators will now have to repair the artwork, Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 , after it was "scratched" by a child visiting the Rotterdam gallery where it was on display. The abstract painting from 1960, which measures 229cm high by 258.5cm wide with a depth of 4.7cm, was a centrepiece of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam - though it had been temporarily on display at the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen as the museum is currently closed for a large-scale renovation. The museum confirmed the incident in a statement emailed to CNN. It said: "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. As a result, small scratches are visible in the unvarnished paint layer in the lower part of the painting. "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." The museum declined to say how much the painting is worth, nor how much the damage might cost to repair - or who might be expected to foot the bill. In response to a question about the painting's value on its website, the museum said the piece was bought in the 1970s for an undisclosed amount. It went on to explain: "An appraiser from an international auction house would be involved in a sale of an artist as famous as Rothko. The price is then very dependent on the condition, size, frame, etc." Latvian-born American artist Rothko, who died in 1970, was best known for his "colour field" paintings. His works regularly fetch millions of dollars at auction. In November 2023 Untitled, 1968 sold for US$23.9 million ($40.2m) at Sotheby's in New York. Museums and galleries are usually eager to promote visits from families with young children, in the hope of fostering an early interest in the arts. Many have programmes and workshops aimed at young visitors and actively encourage them - but children can, of course, be unpredictable. Maxwell Blowfield, writer and creator of the popular maxwell museums newsletter, told CNN: "Every museum and gallery thinks hard about how to balance meaningful physical access to artworks and objects with keeping them safe. I'd say most have the balance right but accidents can still happen. It's impossible to prevent every potential incident, from visitors of all ages. Thankfully things like this are very rare compared to the millions of visits taking place everyday." - CNN
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Child damages $56M Rothko painting at Netherlands museum
April 28 (UPI) -- Dutch curators are considering "next steps" after a child damaged a $56 million painting by American artist Mark Rothko while visiting a museum in Rotterdam. "The work by Rothko -- Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 -- has suffered damage: a number of visible scratches in the unvarnished paint layer," a spokesperson at the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen confirmed. "It happened because a child, in an unsupervised moment, touched the lower part of the work." The painting from 1960 was being displayed at the museum's Depot as the main building undergoes renovations, which are expected to be completed in 2030. Rothko's abstract paintings, known for their "floating color fields," were produced from 1949 until 1970, when the artist died. Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 was acquired by Boijmans in 1970. It is one of only two Rothko paintings in the Netherlands and is among the museum's most valuable pieces. Boijmans, which is keeping the identity of the child and parents private, has not determined who will pay for the painting's repair. In the past, the museum has billed visitors who damaged artworks on display, as fine art insurance policies typically cover "all risks associated with physical loss and damage to artwork." That includes "accidental damage caused by children or visitors, albeit with certain exclusions," said Rachel Myrtle, head of Specie and Fine Arts of Aon. Restoration experts are currently working to determine the best course of action to repair the Rothko painting before it can be displayed again. "We expect that the work will be able to be shown again in the future," the museum spokesperson told BBC. "Conservation expertise has been sought in the Netherlands and abroad. We are currently researching the next steps for the treatment of the painting." Modern, unvarnished paintings are "particularly susceptible to damage," according to Sophie McAloone, conservation manager at the Fine Art Restoration Company. This is "owing to a combination of their complex modern materials, lack of a traditional coating layer and intensity of flat color fields, which make even the smallest areas of damage instantly perceptible," McAloone added. "In this case, scratching of the upper paint layers can have a significant impact on the viewing experience of the piece."
