UPDATE: Mark Rothko Vandal Sentenced

December 19, 2012

Vladimir Umanets, also known as Wlodzimierz Umaniec, defacedMark Rothko’s Black on Maroon at the  Tate Modern October 7, 2012.

Judge Roger Chapple, of the Inner London Crown Court, sentenced Vladimir Umanets to two years in prison.  Umanets vandalized a £9 million (US$15 million) Rothko at the Tate Modern on December 7th.  He admitted responsibility and to £5,000 of criminal damage.

However, the Tate estimates that the restoration of Rothko’s Black on Maroon will cost between £5 million and £9 million.  Initially conservators believed that the painting could be easily restored, but after closer examination they discovered that the ink marker used by Umanets permeated several layers of paint and into the canvas itself.

In his statement, Judge Chapple told Umanets: “Your actions on the 7th of October of this year were entirely deliberate, planned and intentional” and “wholly and utterly unacceptable.”  Judge Chapple not only noted the value of the painting and the cost of restoration, but also the cost of new security measures now under consideration at museums around the United Kingdom.

For our previous coverage on this case visit: Rothko Defaced at the Tate Modern

Sources: The Telegraph, image from RT