Overview

• Mark Rothko's 'Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8' sustained scratches in its unvarnished lower paint layer when a child accidentally touched it at the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.
• The museum confirmed the damage was unintentional, emphasizing that the incident was not an act of vandalism but an unsupervised moment during a visit.
• The painting, valued between $50 million and $60 million, has been moved to the museum's conservation lab, where experts are determining the next steps for restoration.
• Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen's open-storage concept, which removes traditional barriers, has sparked renewed debate about balancing public access with the protection of high-value art.
• This incident follows a 2012 case where another Rothko painting was vandalized at the Tate Modern, requiring 18 months and $250,000 to restore.