An art gallery in west-central Russia has fired a “bored” security guard for defacing a valuable painting on his first day on the job.
It is alleged that the guard took out a ballpoint pen and drew eyes on two of the three faceless figures in the piece of art because he was "bored".
The artwork, called Three Figures, was insured for 74.9 million Russian Rubles, the equivalent of just over R15m. It was on display as part of an exhibition titled The World as Non-Objectivity. The Birth of a New Art.
It was created in the early 1930s by Anna Leporskaya, a student of Kazimir Malevich, the founder of the artistic and philosophical school of Suprematism.
According to Metro, two visitors to the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center in the city of Yekaterinburg , spotted the extra details on the figures and reported it to a gallery employee.
The guard is believed to have defaced the painting on December 7, 2021, but was only sacked this week after his identity became known.
The story is spreading rapidly via social media.
Artist Anna leporskaya's $1million painting named 'Three Figures' was ruined after a security guard drew pair of eyes on the faceless figures in the painting. On being asked he is said to have become bored on the first day of his duty.@MailOnline pic.twitter.com/36lTMEzHcB
— Illuminate- The Learning Hub of MAIMS (@IlluminateMaims) February 10, 2022
It is believed that the painting can be restored it its former glory.
