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Mark Rothko painting at Tate Modern 'defaced' | Mark Rothko painting at Tate Modern 'defaced' |
(35 minutes later) | |
A painting by artist Mark Rothko at the Tate Modern has been defaced by a small amount of black paint, a spokeswoman for the gallery has confirmed. | A painting by artist Mark Rothko at the Tate Modern has been defaced by a small amount of black paint, a spokeswoman for the gallery has confirmed. |
The London gallery said one of the artist's Seagram murals was defaced at about 15:25 BST. | The London gallery said one of the artist's Seagram murals was defaced at about 15:25 BST. |
Paintings by the Modernist painter, one of America's most important post-war artists, have sold for tens of millions of pounds. | |
The gallery was shut for a short period and then reopened. | The gallery was shut for a short period and then reopened. |
Police are investigating the incident. | Police are investigating the incident. |
'Quick exit' | |
On Twitter, eyewitness Tim Wright said: "This guy calmly walked up, took out a marker pen and tagged it. Surreal. | |
"We gave a description to the gallery. Very bizarre. He sat there for a while then just went for it and made a quick exit." | |
A Tate spokeswoman said: "Tate can confirm that there was an incident in which a visitor defaced one of Rothko's Seagram murals by applying a small area of black paint with a brush to the painting." | A Tate spokeswoman said: "Tate can confirm that there was an incident in which a visitor defaced one of Rothko's Seagram murals by applying a small area of black paint with a brush to the painting." |
Russian-born Rothko emigrated to the US at the age of 10, and went on to become an important post-war abstract expressionist. | |
He was commissioned to paint the Seagram murals in 1958 for Manhattan's Four Seasons restaurant, but they were never installed. | He was commissioned to paint the Seagram murals in 1958 for Manhattan's Four Seasons restaurant, but they were never installed. |
Shortly before his death in 1970, he presented some of the murals to the Tate Gallery. | Shortly before his death in 1970, he presented some of the murals to the Tate Gallery. |
In May, Rothko's Orange, red, yellow was sold for $86.9 million (£53.8m) when it went under the hammer at Christie's in New York. | In May, Rothko's Orange, red, yellow was sold for $86.9 million (£53.8m) when it went under the hammer at Christie's in New York. |