[MSN] A man put his foot through a $300, 000 painting Wednesday afternoon at the Milwaukee Art Museum and told museum workers later that the image disturbed him.

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http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=587117
 
Man damages Old Master painting at Milwaukee Art Museum 
He has history of mental illness, director says
By BOB PURVIS
bpurvis at journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 4, 2007
A man put his foot through a $300,000 painting Wednesday afternoon at the
Milwaukee Art Museum and told museum workers later that the image disturbed
him.

The 22-year-old Pewaukee man started kicking "The Triumph of David" by
Ottavio Vannini as it hung on the wall in the museum's Early European
Gallery, said David Gordon, CEO and director of the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Painted in 1640, the oil painting depicts the outcome of the biblical tale
of David and Goliath, with David carrying the giant Goliath's severed head,
Gordon said.

"He was kicking it, aiming his blows at the head of Goliath, and then he
pulled it off the wall and started kicking it," Gordon said.

"It happened very quickly. We have guards constantly on patrol in the
museum, and he obviously waited until the guard had passed through that
gallery," Gordon said. 

A museum employee and security guard tried to stop the man from kicking the
painting, and eventually he quit striking it, took off his shirt and lay
prone on the gallery's floor, Gordon said.

The man told police that the image of Goliath's severed head disturbed him.
Gordon said the man had a history of mental illness.

"He was being very calm and very polite (after the attack). . . . By then we
had a room full of guards and staff members, and he just lay there until
police arrived," Gordon said.

The man was arrested and was being held at the Milwaukee County Jail, police
said. He could be charged with felony damage to property.

Police would not identify the man pending the filing of criminal charges.

A charge of felony damage to property carries a maximum sentence of 3 ½
years in prison.

On loan from collection
The painting was on loan to the museum from the Haukohl Family Collection,
the largest collection of 17th-century Florentine art in America. 

Mark Fehrs Haukohl, a Milwaukee native and art collector living in Houston,
made the loan possible, a museum press release says.

The collection has been exhibited in museums all over the world, and the
family has a history of supporting traveling exhibitions of Italian Old
Master art in the United States, the release says.

The museum's insurance company has been contacted, and the painting will be
examined by conservators to determine the best course of action, Gordon
said.

Early indications are that the painting may be repairable, Gordon said.

Prior damage at museum
It's not the only instance of vandalism at the museum in recent years.

Vandals sprayed graffiti on the exterior of the Calatrava wing of the
Milwaukee Art Museum in May 2005. A man and woman from Milwaukee were
sentenced to 60 days in jail for the crime.

A sculpture was damaged at the museum in February 2006 when drunken
attendees of Martinifest, a semi-formal event organized by Clear Channel
Radio, climbed on the piece.

Gordon said there were few similarities between Martinifest and Wednesday's
incident.

"It is a random act of violence . . . and given the fact that museums are in
the business of putting art on display, it does indeed happen very rarely,"
Gordon said. "The museum enters into a contract of trust with the public,
and very, very occasionally someone violates that trust."