Bust of a Woman 1944
20-year-old Spanish architecture student Shakeel Ryan Massey will spend 18 months behind bars for a destructive stunt pulled on December 28th of last year. Massey, while visiting the Tate Modern, punched a hole through the protective glass in front of Pablo Picasso’s Bust of a Woman (1944), damaging the work. He then proceeded to rip the painting off the wall and threw it on the floor. The painting, valued around $26 million, will now go through 18 months of restoration at a cost of about $450,000.
Massey, calling the act of vandalism “Performance Art,” did not give a real reason for his actions. Judge Jeremy Donne QC stated that “There is nothing to suggest you were anything other than a 20-year-old seeking fame… I have concluded without hesitation the impact upon the public and the gravity of this offence, together with the need to deter others from this form of conduct requires the imposition of an immediate custodial sentence.”
So, does Massey also need to cover the restoration and loss of value?