Dallas Museum of Art, a man destroys ancient statues: he was angry with his girlfriend

It has the unbelievable about what happened on June 1 at the Dallas Museum of Art, one of the leading museums in Texas: a 21-year-old man who entered the museum began to attack the statues in the institution’s antiquities collection, causing extensive damage. Absurd the motivation: the young man explained that he was “angry with his girlfriend.” Museum security officers intervened to prevent the man from doing worse, and police immediately arrested him.

The young man, the Dallas Museum of Art later let it know in a note, did not hit any people, nor was he carrying any weapons. “This was,” the museum explained in a note issued June 2, “an isolated incident perpetrated by an individual acting alone, whose intent was not the theft of artwork or exhibits at the museum. However, some artwork was damaged and we are still assessing the extent of the damage. Although we are devastated by this incident, we are grateful that no one was injured. The safety of our staff and visitors, along with the care and protection of art in our administration, are our top priorities.” The museum was regularly opened to the public as early as June 2.

The explanation for the gesture was made by the young man to the police. According to a reconstruction by the New York Times, three Greek statues dating to between the fifth and sixth centuries B.C.E. sustained serious damage: these were a sixth-century B.C.E. Greek vase depicting the struggle between Hercules and the Nemean lion, a fifth-century B.C.E. red-figure pyxis and a black-figure amphora. Also damaged was a native pottery. The museum’s director, Agustín Arteaga, let it be known that the man broke into the institution around 10 p.m., breaking the glass of the door with a steel chair. Arteaga again let it be known that the objects are insured and their value exceeds $1 million, but the Guardian reports that their value could be around $5 million. Arteaga also confirms that this was not a break-in aimed at stealing artwork; it was simply a man in a fit of rage.

Pictured here are three of the damaged objects

Dallas Museum of Art, a man destroys ancient statues: he was angry with his girlfriend

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