Own up... who stole the stuffed giraffe’s tongue?
Revealed, gallery and museum mishaps
THEY are the works of art and museum pieces put on show for us all to enjoy.
But it seems that dozens of items displayed in Scotland’s museums and galleries have suffered damage in the past five years – either accidental or intentional.
According to data released under a series of freedom of information requests, these range from the suspected theft of a stuffed giraffe’s tongue at the National Museum of Scotland, to an iconic painting of a Royal Navy hero suffering water damage at Scotland’s National War Museum.
The National Galleries of Scotland has more than 96,000 objects in its collections, including major works by Titian and Rembrandt.
But it has been its more modern items that have seen the most accidents, including damage to the frame of 1963 painting In The Car by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, owned by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. This occurred while it was in transit to Australia under a loan arrangement. A smaller version of the same painting sold for more than £13million in 2010.
In 2017, a 1940 sculpture called the Cloak of Secrecy by English surrealist Conroy Maddox was damaged after a doll’s head which forms part of the work was stolen.
Police Scotland was called in to investigate the theft and the part was replaced, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh said.
The calamities are not limited to galleries – Scotland’s museums have also seen 32 recorded misfortunes since 2014.
In 2015, four portraits at Scotland’s National War Museum were damaged, including a painting of 18th century Royal Navy hero Admiral Sir Peter Halkett by Sir John Watson Gordon RA.
The work survived water damage – with the marks removed successfully by specialists.
Scottish Tory culture spokesman Rachael Hamilton said: ‘It’s worrying to see such a long list of blunders.’
A spokesman for the National Museums of Scotland said: ‘Every year thousands of objects are handled and moved. Of these, a very small number of items have been damaged. Given the size and scope of our collections, we achieve an excellent standard of care.’
A spokesman for the National Galleries of Scotland said: ‘Inevitably with more than 2.5million visitors to our galleries each year, there will be, from time to time, some physical contact or potential damage to artworks.’