BuffettNews.com

DETROIT - A 12-year-old visitor to the Detroit Institute of Arts stuck a wad of gum to a $1.5 million painting, leaving a stain the size of a quarter, officials say.

The boy was part of a school group from Holly that visited the museum on Friday, officials say. They say he took a piece of Wrigley's Extra Polar Ice gum out of his mouth and stuck it on Helen Frankenthaler's "The Bay," an abstract painting from 1963.

The museum acquired the work in 1965 and says it is worth about $1.5 million.

The gum stuck to the painting's lower left corner and did not adhere to the fiber of the canvas, officials told the Detroit Free Press. But it left a chemical residue about the size of a quarter, said Becky Hart, assistant curator of contemporary art.

The museum's conservation department is researching the chemicals in the gum to decide which solvent to use to clean it. The museum hopes to make the repair in two weeks and will keep "The Bay" on display in the meantime, she said.

"Our expectation is that the painting is going to be fine," Hart said.

Holly Academy director Julie Kildee said the boy had been suspended from the charter school and says his parents also have disciplined him.

"Even though we give very strict guidelines on proper behavior and we hold students to high standards, he is only 12 and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened, but he certainly understands the severity of it now," said Kildee.

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Doesn't this already look like a wad of gum.....

"he is only 12 and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened"

oh he understood what he was doing... someone in the class probably dared him to do it

If there's any damage to the painting that can't be repaired, the museum should sue the little brat's parents.

txaggirl91 wrote:"he is only 12 and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened"

oh he understood what he was doing... someone in the class probably dared him to do it

you bet he understood.....

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:

txaggirl91 wrote:"he is only 12 and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened"

oh he understood what he was doing... someone in the class probably dared him to do it

you bet he understood.....

if it was MY kid that would do it, i'd be makin' damn sure any damages were taken of. i'd prolly front the cash, but that kid would be payin' me back like nobodies business.

buffettbride wrote:

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:

txaggirl91 wrote:"he is only 12 and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened"

oh he understood what he was doing... someone in the class probably dared him to do it

you bet he understood.....

if it was MY kid that would do it, i'd be makin' damn sure any damages were taken of. i'd prolly front the cash, but that kid would be payin' me back like nobodies business.

"Smile for the milk carton, Timmy"...

buffettbride wrote:

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:

txaggirl91 wrote:"he is only 12 and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened"

oh he understood what he was doing... someone in the class probably dared him to do it

you bet he understood.....

if it was MY kid that would do it, i'd be makin' damn sure any damages were taken of. i'd prolly front the cash, but that kid would be payin' me back like nobodies business.

Even Mal might bust out the Whoopin stick for this one..

does it surprise anyone that it happened in Detroit - a city with one of the worst crime rates in the country?

mings wrote:does it surprise anyone that it happened in Detroit - a city with one of the worst crime rates in the country?

Gotta train em early!

ragtopW wrote:

buffettbride wrote:

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:

txaggirl91 wrote:"he is only 12 and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened"

oh he understood what he was doing... someone in the class probably dared him to do it

you bet he understood.....

if it was MY kid that would do it, i'd be makin' damn sure any damages were taken of. i'd prolly front the cash, but that kid would be payin' me back like nobodies business.

Even Mal might bust out the Whoopin stick for this one..

Nope!! Not ever. It would be a fate worse than a lashing, though.

buffettbride wrote:

ragtopW wrote:

buffettbride wrote:

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:

txaggirl91 wrote:"he is only 12 and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened"

oh he understood what he was doing... someone in the class probably dared him to do it

you bet he understood.....

if it was MY kid that would do it, i'd be makin' damn sure any damages were taken of. i'd prolly front the cash, but that kid would be payin' me back like nobodies business.

Even Mal might bust out the Whoopin stick for this one..

Nope!! Not ever. It would be a fate worse than a lashing, though.

You'd sing to them?

rednekkPH wrote:

buffettbride wrote:

ragtopW wrote:

buffettbride wrote:

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:

txaggirl91 wrote:"he is only 12 and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened"

oh he understood what he was doing... someone in the class probably dared him to do it

you bet he understood.....

if it was MY kid that would do it, i'd be makin' damn sure any damages were taken of. i'd prolly front the cash, but that kid would be payin' me back like nobodies business.

Even Mal might bust out the Whoopin stick for this one..

Nope!! Not ever. It would be a fate worse than a lashing, though.

You'd sing to them?

Non-stop choruses to Cheeseburger in Paradise for a year.

you'd think a painting that's worth that much would be encased or something.
I think it's funny and will be good story/badge of honor years from now

~ Parrot Bay ~ wrote:his parents also have disciplined him.

If that was on of my sons, this would most likely be the mother of all understatements

mings wrote:does it surprise anyone that it happened in Detroit - a city with one of the worst crime rates in the country?

Are you trying to prove that you are a dumbass. The area where the DIA is located does not have crime happen often, and the kid was from holly, a rural part of Southeastern michigan where getting a speeding ticket is news for the paper.

sonofabeach wrote:I think it's funny and will be good story/badge of honor years from now

I was thinking the same thing.

What's the big deal? Is he going to grow up to be somebody his parents warned him about? The horror!

Piratical wrote:What's the big deal?

I hope you're kidding, but not sure you are....

What's the big deal? How about teaching a kid that it's not okay to destroy someone else's property, whether it's a $1.5 million painting or a $5 poster.

If he took a can of spray paint to the front of your house, I'm guessing that would be a big deal, although your house (apartment, condo, whatever) probably costs less than $1.5M.....

Our 4-year old put our cat in the bathtub tonight.
He's only 4, and I don't think he understood the ramifications before hand.


He does now...

Four Play wrote:Our 4-year old put our cat in the bathtub tonight. He's only 4, and I don't think he understand the ramifications before hand.


He does now...

Good Job, Bill

Four Play wrote:Our 4-year old put our cat in the bathtub tonight. He's only 4, and I don't think he understand the ramifications before hand.


He does now...

sorry.. Is the cat clean now?????


is he gonna have to stand for breakfast??